What has gone wrong? I’ve asked myself that question a lot this season, as I’m sure you, the board, the manager and players have too.

I asked it again on Tuesday night and in truth I’m still not sure I have an answer. The finger of blame has been pointed in almost every direction this season, and right now many Chester FC supporters have fixed their sights on Steve Burr.

Those feelings are understandable: football is a results business and over the past few months results have not been good enough.

As the manager, it is right Burr should be held to account and he has accepted that, conceding mistakes have been made and admitting he could have no complaints if the club decided a change was required.

But would sacking the manager solve the mess the Blues now find themselves in? I suspect I'm in an ever-decreasing minority here, but I don't think so.

There are four games to go and absolutely no guarantees a change in the dugout would yield an improvement. What is guaranteed is that the club would be tens of thousands of pounds worse off.

A lot has been made of whether or not the club can afford to dispense with a manager who has another 12 months on his contract.

City Fans United has worked building up a war chest to protect against future threats.

That cash has been raised directly from supporters pockets and, while I hope the club never needs to draw on that fund, its significance should not be underestimated.

As a fan and advocate of supporter-ownership, using funds designed to preserve the club for future generations to sack a manager who this time last season signed a two-year contract to near-universal delight makes me extremely uncomfortable.

Of course 12 months is a long time in football and the board are faced with a difficult dilemma and one I don't envy.

Steve Burr and Jon McCarthy in happier times during last season's successful FA Cup run
Steve Burr and Jon McCarthy in happier times during last season's successful FA Cup run

From October onwards, results and performances began to deteriorate at an alarming rate and there’s no hiding the fact a run of three wins in 22 games is relegation form.

A team most considered a decent outside bet for the play-offs after starting the season with one defeat from seven went into freefall.

But does the present predicament vindicate taking a huge slice out of the war chest? Without guarantees, which simply don't exist in football, I maintain not.

Without question the club is staring down the barrel but, and I might well regret this, I expect them to survive. Just.

It's impossible to have too much confidence in that prediction but I still believe there four teams who will have fewer points than Chester.

Let's not dress it up; finishing 19th or 20th should not be held up as an acheivement. It will be a massive disappointment.

Irrespective of what happens, the summer will be time for reflection, to consider what lessons can be learned and to ask difficult questions. It is inevitable some of those questions will concern the manager's position.

Steve Burr and Ryan Higgins pictured during the FA Cup defeat at Altrincham, which seemed to signal the start of a downturn in results
Steve Burr and Ryan Higgins pictured during the FA Cup defeat at Altrincham, which seemed to signal the start of a downturn in results

I don't have an answer for when or where this season went so wrong.

An over-reliance on Ross Hannah? The inability to defend set-pieces? Not enough leadership on the pitch? The lack of success in the loan market? The chopping and changing of formation? Individual mistakes? These weaknesses and more have contributed to the situation in which the club now finds itself.

Perhaps a weakness not so obvious but one that could be more significant than the rest is that right now the club feels disconnected. In November I suggested City Fans United was at a crossroads and I believe that to still be the case.

It was evident at Torquay on Tuesday night that the Gulls, a club who have endured testing times and before Christmas looked nailed on for relegation, had galvanised themselves in the face of adversity.

That togetherness between the manager, his players and the fans has been at the core of their transformation from a side 12 points adrift of safety to one that now sits three points above the bottom four.

It has been a disappointing season for Chester supporters and some now feel a change in manager is required
It has been a disappointing season for Chester supporters and some now feel a change in manager is required

Right now the Blues don't appear to have that. There’s no real connection between the team and the fans, many supporters have lost faith in the manager, there are factions arguing rightly or wrongly City Fans United has lost sight of some of the ideals of a community club, the manager has been unable to bring the best out of a squad that in pre-season everyone agreed had been made stronger, and there are signs the connection between the board and the manager is no longer what it was.

Those are not things that can be fixed at the click of a finger and there are challenges on and off the pitch that the club must overcome else history will be bound to repeat itself.

But for now these divisions must be put aside. Relegation could be a crushing blow and for the Blues to have a fighting chance, the club has to stand together through the final four games and ensure it does not happen.