For those of you who haven't worked it all out, these are the possibilities before Saturday's match at Ashton United :
1. We will finish in our present position of 5th, even if we lose, because we have a four point cushion over Blyth Spartans who are currently 6th.
2. If we win on Saturday, and Spennymoor lose across town at Curzon, we will finish 4th. Obviously, the latter is very unlikely. In any event we are definitely playing at home on Wednesday May 1st.
3. If we were to finish 4th we would play the team who finish 7th, but the more likely scenario would see us playing the team in 6th.
SO....who are the likely opposition ? There are three clubs in contention for 6th and 7th places ::
BLYTH SPARTANS are currently 6th, and finish at home to Southport. My money is on them to finish 6th, but it should be noted that their manager has already publicly stated that the board have told him they cannot afford promotion. He's been told to cut costs and recruit lower league players for next season. Morale may be low in consequence of that.
BRADFORD PARK AVENUE are 7th, and need to win away at Chorley. Since Chorley need to win to have any chance of pipping Stockport to the title, this is unlikely in the extreme. They also need to keep the margin of defeat down because they could still earn the last playoff spot if they lose....
....and AFC TELFORD also lose at York City. At the moment, Bradford are one goal better off than Telford, and have scored more goals.
I predict that the playoff first round games will be Alty v Blyth, and Spennymoor v Telford - but there are all sorts of possibilities in there.
SO.... let's assume that we can beat Blyth, and get into the semis. That almost certainly means a trip to Chorley. We would need to be at the very top of our game, but that match is winnable if we are.
In that case, we would earn the right to play at home in the final. BRACKLEY would be the most likely opponents, but I wouldn't rule out Telford if they sneak into 7th spot - they could be a threat to everyone.
The only real certainty is that there will be twists and turns galore along the way. Fasten your seatbelts - it's gonna be a bumpy ride !