Martin Allen was appointed manager of Barnet today and vowed to save them from dropping out of the Football League.
Last night's 1-0 defeat at Aldershot led to the board approaching Allen, who started his managerial career with the club when they were in the Conference in 2003.
Chairman Tony Kleanthous admits the shock move is "the last throw of the dice" given that Barnet are three points from safety in League Two, having played four games more than 22nd-placed Burton.
But Allen, who has been out of the game since leaving Cheltenham in 2009, points to his achievement in keeping Brentford up in similar circumstances seven years ago.
"The contract is only for five weeks and we'll see how it goes," said the 45-year-old. "It looks tough on paper, they've won eight games all season, but I was in this situation before with Brentford and we got out of it.
"When I got the call late last night it was a nobrainer. We are going to have some fun and we are going to stay up."
Director of football Paul Fairclough had been in caretaker charge since Mark Stimson was axed on New Year's Day.
