FORM, not final position, is on the mind of Peter Clarke as he gears up for Town’s League I play-off challenge.

The 28-year-old skipper is determined to go into the semi-finals having helped Lee Clark’s side close their regular campaign with wins at home to Colchester today and away to Exeter next Saturday.

If that takes Town into the top four, therefore clinching home advantage for the semi second leg, all well and good.

But Clarke casts his mind back to last season and Scunthorpe as a reminder that a team’s placing after 46 games doesn’t always dictate what will happen next.

Nigel Adkins’ men made the play-offs, and dashed the hopes of a Tranmere side including Town midfielder Antony Kay, with a last-gasp goal in their final-day meeting with the Birkenhead side at Glanford Park.

Cliff Byrne’s equaliser clinched a 1-1 draw and ensured the Iron, rather than Tranmere, finished sixth, and three weeks later the skipper was celebrating at Wembley after 3-2 final victory over Millwall fired them to the Championship.

“That just goes to show that anything can happen,” said Clarke, who experienced League I play-off semi-final disappointment with Southend against Doncaster in 2008.

“Scunthorpe scratched their way into the play-offs but ended up getting promoted, and it’s all about how you respond to the challenge when you get there.

“The only certain thing is that you have to beat two of the other three sides involved to succeed, and our aim is to go into the play-offs with momentum.”

Town’s last two games, the 1-0 home win over Millwall and 6-0 hammering of Stockport at Edgeley Park, mean they are second only to Southampton in the League I form table with six wins in their last eight games.

Clarke claimed the winner against Millwall, his sixth goal of the season, and with Anthony Pilkington, Theo Robinson, Jordan Rhodes, Danny Drinkwater, Gary Roberts and Lee Novak (penalty) doing the damage at Stockport, it means Town’s last seven goals have been scored by seven different players.

In total, 14 have found the net this season with Town notching 79 in their 44 league games to date and 97 in 51 matches in all competitions.

Successive clean sheets have taken that tally to 16 in the league and 17 in all, and Clarke believes both figures bode well.

“As a defender, it’s always pleasing to keep clean sheets, and I’m sure (goalkeeper) Alex Smithies will have been delighted with the last two results.

“If we can keep a clean sheet, there’s always a good chance we’ll win the match because we do pose a threat up front.”

Clarke continued: “We always knew the Millwall match was a big win for us, but it became even more so because of results elsewhere.

“Other games also had an impact on Saturday, with Colchester’s draw meaning our win at Stockport was enough to guarantee a play-off place.

“Now we have two more games to define what will happen in terms of the play-off schedule, and as I said, we aim to get six points and see where that takes us.”