David Holdsworth says that the race for the play off places is still very much alive as we prepare to face Salisbury City on Saturday.

The manager is speaking to Mansfield 103.2's Dave Rhodes at today's press meeting.

After our goalless draw against Luton on Tuesday night, we currently sit in seventh place and depending on results elsewhere, a win against the Whites could propel us back into the top five. The Gaffer feels that not only can we build on an unbeaten run of three games, but that our play off rivals are likely to drop points as the season enters into its business end.  

He said: "Saturday is another three points that we've got to work our socks off for. There are some big games coming up for other teams (around us in the table) and some twitchy moments so it's all to play for.

"There will be more twists and turns throughout this period. Rushden have some tough games and Luton have some that they will find uncomfortable and there's a lot of pressure on them. All we can do is focus on what we've got to do.

Reflecting on the game in hand this weekend, Holdsworth said that he was looking for a big performance from his players against Salisbury in order to secure the three points we need to regain ground on the leading pack. With our opponents boasting an away record of eight wins and eight losses, but no draws, fans can be certain of an entertaining match.  

He added: "The boy Tubbs (Salisbury's top scorer) is a good player. We may have to look at changing our formation as we have a lot of respect for the football club.

"We are looking for a big performance from our strikers. There's a lot of onus on the strikers at the moment as we've needed goals in recent weeks and they need to be looking to step up to the mark.

"They will come to frustrate and I hope that we can show the patience but also try and come out of the traps an get a goal early on. If we can do that then we will go on to be successful.

"We've got three games now where we've been unbeaten and I feel that we have got to try and turn the little things into big things. They're called goals and performances and the players know that."