Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 5 April 2013

5 April 2013

The title race is wide open following Wrexham's win over Mansfield last night. Well, it is if you're Kiddy, Mansfield, Wrexham or Newport. If you're Town then it's slightly ajar - another four points from Kiddy and the window of opportunity is slammed firmly shut.

Not that this is unexpected. It was barely a week ago when Town fans began to worry whether we'd make it into the play-offs, and while that's still not a certainty the two recent wins have made Town's position relatively comfortable.

So should Town take their foot off the gas and coast towards the play-offs? I'd hope not - better to be certain of the play-offs and the sooner Forest Green are out of reach the better for us. But Town should also look to enter the play-offs on a good run so it's important for the team to continue the current unbeaten form and keep that pre-December goalscoring habit that seems to have returned in the last two games.

The thing is, Town have an advantage of sorts here: with the rest of the top five still going all out to snatch the single promotion spot, the pressure is off Town. While we don't want to switch off, neither do we need to bust a gut trying to make it to the top. Instead the players should use the remaining games to build momentum towards the play-offs.

The return of key players can only help. Disley - although likely to be missing again tomorrow - clearly made a difference on his return. Fans also are keen to see the return of both Niven and Hearn, the former for his contribution to the unbeaten run earlier this season and the latter because we all saw what he was capable of last season.

Alongside that, the form of players like Artus and Colbeck seems to have been lifted by their appearance at Wembley - and you would hope that a break from the team may also rejuvenate Marshall and Devitt, whose form seems to have dipped recently.

If Town can recover that pre-December resoluteness that allowed them to snatch victory even when not on top form then there's no reason to fear meeting any of the other top four in the play-offs. First things first though - let's beat Southport and all but secure that final place.