Magpies set their sights on play-off position ahead of trip to Banbury United

The Magpies head to Banbury United this weekend, looking to make it three league wins on the spin.

After a slightly inconsistent start, boss Andy Preece has been pleased with his side’s form in recent weeks.

Unbeaten at home, they have collected three consecutive league wins at Victory Park, the only blot on the copybook was the 2-1 loss at Southport sandwiched inbetween.

Preece is keen to see his men transfer some of their home form to their travels starting this weekend.

If they can improve their away record, then a play-off position is there for the taking.

The 2-0 win over Kettering Town a couple of weeks ago saw them move into the top seven and while they have dropped back to ninth due to cup commitments, a win over Banbury could see them move back up the table again.

"The next games is always the most important,” said Preece who saw a much-changed side defeat Leek Town 1-0 in the FA Trophy last weekend while another team featuring lots of squad players were beaten by Atherton Collieries in the LFA Challenge Trophy 1-0 in midweek.

"That’s kind of been the case the last few weeks. We have said that if we can win the next game after a win then that will put us in and around the play-offs.

"Earlier in the season we would follow a win with a draw or we would lose but we have managed to put a few games back-to-back now where we have got positive results.

"The table is really tight, it’s tight above us – we have got a game in hand and if we win that then that takes us up to 30 points.

“The top teams are around the 30-point mark so we have put ourselves in a good position now and we can push from there. It is going really well at the minute.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the division, AFC Fylde are at home to Alfreton Town while Southport head to Kettering Town.