SELDOM, in recent years at least, has there been such a scenario at this stage of the season where the threat of relegation still looms so large for so many clubs.

With six games to go, almost half of the Third Division are fighting between themselves to preserve Football League status - only five points separate 15th-placed Bristol Rovers from the bottom two.

Mathematically, Boston in the lofty heights of 11th can still suffer the heartache of relegation, although that would take some slump and various other results to work against them.

But given York's alarming demise this season - from promotion hopefuls to relegation flirts - life at Boston may not be as cosy as it appears.

It was only in December that the Minstermen were on the fringes of a play-off place. But, since welcoming 2004 with victory over Carlisle, Chris Brass' men have been in freefall towards the Conference, going 13 games without a win. After last Sunday's defeat to fellow strugglers Macclesfield, York occupy a relegation place for the first time this season.

The only team propping them up are professional drop-dodgers Carlisle. The Cumbrians have a proven track record when it comes to escaping the clutches of relegation.

In five of their last six seasons, they have avoided the drop by one place. Their most famous Houdini act came on the final day of the 1998/99 season when an injury time winner from on-loan goalkeeper Jimmy Glass helped them to a 2-1 win over Plymouth, sending Scarborough down.

Taking a paltry five points from their first 21 games this season, it would seem their latest predicament was a step too far, even by Carlisle's standards.

But, following the arrival of player-boss Paul Simpson and an influx of experienced players, the Cumbrians have picked up a further 32 points and are now within touching distance of safety.

"Carlisle have gone out and got a lot of good players," said Darlington boss David Hodgson. "That's put them in a good position to finish the season strongly and that's what they have done. They have a history of getting out of trouble and they'll be confident of doing it again. They are not too far away and they can see some light. If they win both of their games over the weekend they are right in the boat with the rest of us."

No other team in the Division is better equipped in these situations and few would bet against the Cumbrians from pulling off another miraculous escape.

Hodgson also believes Cambridge and Scunthorpe have a psychological edge in the fight for survival after recent managerial changes - "A change in management can lift a club so that could work in their favour."

But only the coming weeks will tell whether new Us boss Claude Le Roy - dictating tactics to assistant Herve Renard from the comfort of a TV studio in France - can successfully handle the less salubrious surroundings of a Third Division relegation battle, after gracing the world stage in charge of the Cameroon and Senegal national teams, as well as European giants, Paris St Germain.

At the other end of the managerial scale, rookie Russ Wilcox has been handed the unenviable task of guiding Scunthorpe to safety.

Like York, the Iron - strongly tipped for promotion at the start of the season - have endured a horrendous run of results, costing Brian Laws, a good friend of Hodgson, his job last month.

Wilcox will be buoyed by the fact that four of their remaining six fixtures are against teams - Quakers included - involved at the bottom; winning those crunch games gives his team every chance.

Hodgson believes Quakers' fate may not be decided until the trip to Glanford Park on the final day of the season.

Supporters will hope otherwise as it was at Glanford Park where Quakers were relegated from the Football League in 1989.

However, the Quakers boss may have a clearer picture after today's visit of Mansfield and the Bank Holiday Monday trip to Southend.

"I said it could happen but I hope it doesn't go right down to the wire at Scunthorpe," said Hodgson.

"I think a lot of teams will know better about where they stand after the next couple of games.

"As a club we need to come out of this weekend with points. That puts the onus on teams below us to win their respective games to get above us."

And with so many teams still involved in the relegation mire and still to face each other, Hodgson admits he has no idea what the future holds.

"When it comes down to the Third Division you just don't know what might happen," he said.

Read more about the Quakers here.