​Chorley not taking ‘kind’ final run-in for granted as they look to finish in second spot in NL North table

​The fourth-placed Magpies probably require just one more win from their final six games to be sure of a place in the top seven.

However, boss Andy Preece is a targeting a place in the top three which will guarantee an automatic spot in the play-off semi-finals.

They are currently four points behind second-placed Scunthorpe United and a point behind Brackley Town, in third, but have a game in hand on both of the teams directly above them.

And all of their remaining games are against teams who are in the bottom half of the table.

Preece, though, is taking nothing for granted especially as many of their opponents will be fighting for much-needed points to avoid relegation.

The Magpies head to Blackwell Meadows this afternoon to face Darlington, a team who are just one place above the drop zone.

"Sometimes it can be a good thing to play against teams who are around you in the table because if you win that makes a big dent in their promotion push,” said Preece.

"You look at some of the other teams around us, their run-ins look really tough – they are playing a lot of the teams around them.

"But no game is easy and it doesn’t matter where a team is in the table, they are capable of beating you.

"Virtually every team is fighting for something whether it’s getting in the play-offs or avoiding relegation.

"As it stands, there’s no game with nothing on it but it might be that the last few games, one or two teams will have nothing to play for so you have that scenario where they will be playing with freedom.