TONY CARSS believes Town are in no mood to throw away their promotion chance.
The 28-year-old midfield player was forced off suffering a migraine attack as Town lost 2-1 at Kidderminster on Monday - only their third defeat in 20 matches stretching back four months.
The headache was nowhere near as painful as the defeat, however, and Carss believes the whole squad are fully fired up for the run-in.
"We have fought all season to get where we are and we don't want to throw it away," said the much-travelled craftsman.
"With a handful of games to go we are in a fantastic position and, if we keep on doing what we have been doing over most of the last 20 games, we are going to get the job done.
"Spirit, confidence and belief doesn't take a knock when you are on a run like ours.
"You suffer your disappointments, yes, but the belief remains intact and we all know we've got what it takes to claim an automatic place.
"It is in our own hands, but if a few clubs do us a favour along the way then no-one is going to be complaining.
"Another six or nine points may well be enough considering other contenders are running out of games, and we have to make sure we finish on a high."
Carss was convinced from the very outset that manager Peter Jackson would lead Town to Division II first time.
Oldham Athletic did their utmost to persuade the Alnwick-born player to stay at Boundary Park - where he was a big crowd favourite - but he opted for a seventh club because he felt the McAlpine would be a good place to spend the prime of his career.
"Speaking to the gaffer and to Terry Yorath last summer, they were very optimistic about the season ahead and I honestly felt when I signed that we could win promotion," said Carss.
"It took us a while to gel, because there were a lot of new players coming together, but I think we've always believed we could take us up.
"That belief has got stronger and stronger as we've gone through the season and the spirit has grown with it. Our focus is as strong as it's ever been.
"So, hopefully, we can now carry off what we started out to do."
Carss refuses to think about next season.
There's every reason to suggest Town can establish themselves back in Division II should they go up, but the man with a can-opener of a left foot refuses to get ahead of events.
"There are still plenty of matches to play and plenty of points to be fought for before we start thinking about next season," he said. "All we do know is that we had a good Carling Cup run with wins against two First Division clubs in Derby and Sunderland and only went down by the odd goal to another, Reading.
"That shows we can compete against clubs from other Leagues, but we have to just concentrate on what we are doing."
