IT has certainly been an eventful season for Warrington Rylands.

At half time of their opening game of the season back in August, when they found themselves 4-0 down to Radcliffe, correctly predicting what would happen in the ensuing eight months both on and off the field at Gorsey Lane would have been impressive.

Choppy waters have never seemed too far away, whether it is top goalscorer Adama Sidibeh leaving mid-season, manager Michael Clegg being prised away by promotion rivals Macclesfield or his eventual replacement Sam Wilson being sacked after just three days in permanent charge.

The reasoning behind the latter may seem clear following the emergence of a 2015 rape conviction for Wilson, but the club have opted against commenting further or even offering an explanation for the decision beyond a brief statement confirming his departure.

The rights and wrongs of that will no doubt continue to be debated, but what cannot be argued is that Blues have had a stellar campaign on the field.

Pre-season predictions have been confounded by qualifying for the play-offs and they now stand just two wins away from giving Warrington a second National League North club.

Their bid to do that starts tonight as they make the short trip to Marine in the Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off semi-finals.

“In pre-season, we brought in a lot of new players and we didn’t quite know what we were going to become,” said senior player Dean Furman, who is now tasked with taking interim charge of the team for whatever remains of the campaign alongside Mark Duffy.

“We were 4-0 down at half time in our first game against Radcliffe and it may have looked like a long season, but from that point on what we’ve done has been remarkable.

“We’ve found something that works with a bunch of hard-working lads who are committed.

“We’ve loved every minute – it’s been a phenomenal season and despite adversity along the way, this group has got stronger and stronger.”

Standing between them and a place in Monday’s final are Crosby-based Marine, who were able to edge past them in the season’s closing weeks to ensure home advantage for tonight’s tie.

The winner will face either Macclesfield or Worksop Town in the final and while Blues have gained four points from a possible six against their semi-final opponents this season, beating them as recently as Easter Monday, Furman is acutely aware of the task facing his side.

“They’ve had a phenomenal season and their run-in has been really impressive,” he said.

“We know them really well and they know us really well – we came up together a couple of seasons ago and we’ve had some really good battles against them over the years.

“It’s going to be a really good game and there will be a fantastic atmosphere down there.

“They will be up for it but so will we – hopefully we bring a load of fans and make it a great occasion.”