Shrewsbury Town captain Graham Coughlan insists his side can get back on track for promotion to League One by beating bottom club Darlington on Saturday.Three straight defeats have left Town adrift of the play-offs, but the visit of managerless Darlo may prove timely.
"We must concentrate on Saturday's game rather than the run-in," Coughlan told BBC Radio Shropshire.
"Saturday is a big game for us. Come a quarter to five we'll have a clearer indication where our season is going."
Last season, Town looked nailed on for the League Two play-offs in mid-February when they stood in fourth place, only to then win just one of their next 11 league games.
But they then rallied late on, picking up seven points from their last three games, capped by a final-day win at Dagenham & Redbridge, which sneaked them into the play-offs.
Maybe the three defeats have cost us an automatic place, but it is still there for us
Shrewsbury Town skipper Graham Coughlan
And Coughlan refuses to be drawn into the potential different permutations thrown up by Shrewsbury's final nine matches this time round.
"One or two fans have come up with the scenario of it all resting on the last game at Port Vale - like it did at Dagenham last year," he added.
"We wouldn't want to leave it that tight and that late again, so we need to consolidate a play-off place first and foremost - and that means we need improvements.
"Maybe the three defeats have cost us an automatic place, but it is still there for us.
"We need improvements, though, and that makes the game against Darlington a really big one for us."
Source: BBC Sport
Source: BBC Sport