ANDY RITCHIE says Town’s play-off push is alive but warned: “Things might not be pretty.”

The boss watched his side grind out a 1-0 home win over Millwall at a fog-bound Galpharm Stadium and insisted: “The result was all that mattered.”

Luke Beckett’s 29th-minute penalty ensured Town bounced back from Saturday’s 3-1 FA Cup defeat at Chelsea by chalking up a fifth win in six League I games.

It was also their fifth clean sheet in that spell.

The win put them 13th, six points off the play-off zone, and Ritchie pointed out: “We’ve still to play most of the teams above us.

“We made a few wrong decisions and the game was a bit ugly, but that’s the way things might have to be.

“The lads were disappointed at not playing better, but the conditions were tough.

“At this stage of the season, it’s all about grinding out the right results, and we managed to do that against a Millwall side battling for survival.

“I think there were a few tired legs after we spent so long chasing Chelsea around the pitch.

“But we showed determination and spirit to get the win, and we’ll go down to Gillingham on Saturday confident of getting another.”

Striker Danny Cadamarteri was set for a reserve run-out against Stoke at the Galpharm this afternoon.

But Ritchie decided against fielding Jon Worthington, instead giving him a work-out on the training pitch as the midfielder tries to prove his fitness for Priestfield after a hamstring strain.