VIBRANT boss Peter Jackson today set sights on a maximum holiday haul of points to put Town back among the play-off favourites.

The McAlpine chief is well aware Town misfired badly in yesterday's 1-0 win against Bury, which was watched by a crowd of 10,217 - the club's third highest gate for a home League game this term.

But he is equally convinced Town are moving in the right direction at the right time after successive clean sheets and a Christmas stocking containing six points so far.

"We've got a massive game coming up against Doncaster, but if we can make it nine points out of nine, it will be fantastic," said Jackson, whose team are still ninth in the Third Division but only a point off the top seven play-off placings.

"The first thing the players said when they came off the pitch yesterday was how awful we had been - they are honest lads - but we have come up with valuable points at just the time we needed them.

"We will play a lot better this season and lose, so I'm not going to worry too much and the table certainly looks a lot better than it did four days ago.

"That's a credit to the lads for battling through and sticking to the task when they weren't playing well.

"I don't think we've strung three passes together against Darlington or Bury, but we've got another six points on the board so I'm not going to complain too much."

Jackson drafted Jon Worthington, Andy Holdsworth and skipper Rob Edwards into the starting line-up for suspended Nathan Clarke and injured duo Danny Schofield and Paul Scott.

Scott will be out at least a couple of weeks with ankle ligament damage.

"I am not making excuses for the way we played because it wasn't good, but people should remember we were without eight players and we've won," he said.

"I haven't got the biggest squad, but they are fighters and, if people had offered us this position at the start of the season - going into 2004 as genuine play-off contenders - then I think most would have settled for it.

"We have responded well to the drubbing we got at Macclesfield and we know we can play a lot better, so it's a good situation."