KEVIN Wilkin is adamant complacency will not be an issue for a Nuneaton Town team which needs just one more win to secure a play-off place.
Victory against out of form Colwyn Bay or already relegated Blyth Spartans in the final two games will almost certainly be enough to secure a top five finish in Blue Square Bet North — the fourth straight year Boro will have made it into the end of season or showdown.
While the fixtures look relatively straightforward on paper, manager Wilkin says that is not the case as he calls for his players to finally wrap their play-off place after being deducted six points.
He said: “Complacency won’t be an issue. We’ve spoken about how important it is to make sure it is mathematically certain.
“We’ve still got two cup finals left. That hasn’t changed.
“In one sense we’ve already done enough but because of the deduction it’s important we go again. The players have put in a massive amount of hard work.
“No one wants to see that go to waste so we’ll have to push on once again.”
Wilkin has given the squad tonight off from training as they look to rest up for Saturday’s game following the weekend draw at Solihull Moors.
“We’ll have Tuesday off and then go again on Thursday. The players won’t get any fitter at this stage so some rest will do them good.
“Pitches are hard at this time so a bit of a break will be useful,” he said.
Another reason for the players being given extra rest could be the fact numbers are very limited. Winger Wes York (knee) will not play again this season, while right-back Graham Ward should be in the same boat due to his knee injury.
However, he was on the bench at Solihull as Wilkin said he could have ‘given it a go’ for 20 minutes if the team was desperate.
Skipper Mark Noon (ankle) was also on the bench but not fully fit and Wilkin could not call on Coventry City defender Joe Henderson, who is on work experience, as he was playing for the Sky Blues academy.
Striker Chris Dillon was signed on dual registration, but he is primarily an Arlesey Town player — leaving Wilkin with just 14 fully fit players to choose from until centre-half Gaz Dean completes his suspension on Saturday.
Wilkin says he would like to have a bigger squad but circumstance prevents it.
He insists he did all he could to strengthen the squad before the March deadline, but no further deals could be completed.
“We tried to sign players but for whatever reason it didn’t happen. There were two or three people we went all out to get.
“They didn’t come off but it wasn’t for lack of trying. It’s never just a case of plucking a name off a list and saying we’ll sign him. They’ve got to be able to improve us, play in an area we want to improve and fit the budget.
“There are more things than that to consider but it shows it’s not a straightforward process signing people,” he said.
