Ten miles separate Droylsden FC and Hyde FC, two of English football's poorest teams. Both suffered relegation before spring officially arrived – and until yesterday Droylsden had not won a league match. By beating Witton Albion 4-3 they doubled their points tally from three to six. Even so, David Pace has a nice line in gallows humour considering the club he owns and manages went down from the Evo-Stik Premier in February and has a £250,000 VAT bill plus a further £350,000 debt he is struggling to pay off.

"It would make a great TV series, right from the days from when I had my floodlights pinched. That was when I said to my dad: 'I'm going to pack it in' and he said: 'You've never jacked in anything in your life'." Pace can only laugh at a club that is located three miles east of the Premier League billionaires of Manchester City. "It's just soul-destroying, like getting tortured week-in week-out."

Pace, a builder by trade, constructed the William Pace stand at Droylsden's 3,500-capacity Butchers Arms ground in his father's honour. It was through William that the 53-year-old, who is from nearby Openshaw, began a near-lifelong association with the club. "I played for the youth team against Manchester United and City and my dad used to watch," Pace said. "My dad was a supporter, he wasn't involved, I just took it from there."

After playing abroad, including a stint at Dallas Tornado in the 1980s, Pace returned to Droylsden in 1992. "The club was advertising in the paper that they needed players. But there was no stands, nothing. I tried to do the club up a bit but it burnt down, and I didn't get any insurance. I managed to soldier through. I built it from the bottom up, became chairman, then took over as manager in 1996, took the club all the way to the Conference Premier."

The single season in the top division of the non-league game came in 2007‑08 and was a shining achievement from Pace, whose secret has been to unearth gems and draw performances from them before bigger clubs get wise. "Fans are great [though] the newer ones have only known success. We were live on telly about three or four times, playing against Chesterfield, Leyton Orient [in the FA Cup], but the older people realise what I've done. They know I'm not a multi-millionaire, I'm just a working chap that basically earns £100 and spends £99, but at the moment I'm earning £100 and spending £150."

Chesterfield were beaten 2-1 in a second-round tie in 2008 but Droylsden were subsequently expelled for fielding Sean Newton, who scored both goals but was suspended for the game.

Another tale in the compelling Drolysden story involved Pace's partner, Stella, replacing him as manager before going on to to claim the Manchester Senior Cup. "I fell out with the Manchester FA and Stella ran the team and won the Cup in 2000 – she picked her own side all the way through," he says.

When an large VAT bill initiated Droyslden's financial free-fall, Pace decided against putting the club into administration. "It's like being punished from both sides. You don't get help from the FA, from anywhere. You're getting punished week in week out [on the pitch]. Whereas if you go into admin, you'd start again in a lower division but start from day one. I thought long and hard about it. I didn't want to start up as an FC Droylsden – starting a new football club means losing its history.

"I kept on as manager this year because it would have been terrible for someone to take over – I knew the situation we were in, I can't afford to pay the bills and pay for a team that can compete at this level. That's the story behind why we're getting beat each week. I've signed over 100 players this year, anyone who shows any potential has gone to other clubs. This year has just been a nightmare, I've just got to get on with it."

At Hyde, finances are not the problem, but form is as dire. There has been one win in 39 league outings for Scott McNiven's team and a goal difference of minus 68, after home defeat to Dartford on Saturday. Located to the east of Stockport, Hyde were saved from bankruptcy due to investment from Manchester City three years ago. In the 2010-11 season, Hyde wore their colours as part of a sponsorship deal, though the team again plays in red, with its 4,000-capacity Ewan Fields ground also used by City's elite development and academy squads.

Pete Ainger, the chief executive, said: "The relationship with Manchester City is very good. The contract is that they pay rent for the ground. We're not bankrolled by them, even though we'd like players from them - that hasn't materialised. This myth perpetuated that when we won the Conference North championship [in 2011-12] we were bankrolled by City: I can categorically say that's not true.

"We've found going into this league is that there is a bit of a tiered system with the monies. When you're playing the likes of Luton Town – when we went down there this season there was a 7,000 gate. We're lucky if we get 700. We're one of the few teams that train part-time," he said.

"At the start of the season we thought we had a pretty good squad, I didn't hear any complaints from fans. Like a lot of things in football it didn't quite work out. Results haven't been there even though the form has. That's been one of the bizarre things."