Stags' boss Adam Murray says his squad is ‘excited’ to fight for the remaining 27 points in Sky Bet League 2 this season.
The Stags battled for a 1-1 draw against Portsmouth on Saturday at One Call Stadium and they now sit seven points off the play-offs with nine matches left to play.
And Murray says his players are in high spirits after bouncing back from a run of three defeats with a strong performance against promotion-chasing Pompey.
“We’re still ‘in this mix’, we’re fully in the fight for the play-offs – the point on Saturday 'kept us alive' so we go into these two games knowing they are big games.
“There’s a lot of fight in the camp, a lot of spirit in the camp and we want to build on the season we’ve had so far.
“There’s a feeling of excitement. We like the fact we’re on the chase [for the play-offs]. We believe we should be higher, which is tough to take, but with that feeling of slight disappointment, there has been a lot of learning curves because we know 'the bigger picture' is bright," Murray continued.
“There’s a real energy in the group at the minute. We’ve had a really good couple of weeks training-wise. Things are clicking nicely – as long as you’ve got hope, you’ve always got a chance.”
The Stags travel to Adams Park to face fellow promotion-chasing rivals Wycombe Wanderers on Friday (25 March, 3pm kick-off), which presents Murray’s side with an opportunity to close the gap on the play-off pack and beat one of the top sides in the division for the first time this season.
“It’s one of those patterns we need to break and we want to start as soon as possible. Games are running out but there won’t be a better place to do it than at Wycombe – a team that’s doing very well this season; the manager’s done excellently there.
“You have to take your hat off to him (Gareth Ainsworth, Wycombe boss) because he’s put a squad together that works tirelessly for him. It will be a tough game for us but we go into it knowing our strengths and knowing their weaknesses and we’ll look to exploit them.”
Supporters can view Adam Murray’s news conference, in full, on Stags Player later.
