ANDY RITCHIE hailed the Town fans who have snapped up all 6,126 tickets for Chelsea and urged: "Get behind us in the league as well."

Before the big FA Cup fifth-round trip to Stamford Bridge in eight days’ time, Town have League I games at home to Swindon tomorrow and away to Carlisle on Tuesday.

And Ritchie was quick to point out: "In terms of where we want to be as a club, those games are just as important as Chelsea."

Even though Town dropped to 16th as a result of Bristol Rovers’ midweek home win over Cheltenham, their manager insists the play-offs remain a realistic target.

"We’ve tightened up in defence, we’ve won our last three on the spin and we’re determined to keep the run going against Swindon," he said.

"The cup run has caught the imagination of our supporters, which is brilliant and sends a firm message to those who said the romance of the competition has gone.

"The atmosphere at the ties against Birmingham and Oldham provided a real lift for the players, and if we could generate something similar tomorrow, it would be a big bonus."

The turn-out for the last home match, the 1-0 win against Bournemouth the Tuesday before last, was a disappointing 7,359.

There have been only two lower home league gates since Town left Leeds Road back in 1994, and officials will have a keen eye on tomorrow’s total.

Ritchie’s focus will be on the action, and while Andy Booth is back to full fitness, Luke Beckett’s stand-out performance in last Saturday’s 2-0 win at Yeovil means the nine-goal top scorer is likely to retain his starting berth.

Chris Brandon is available again after a three-match suspension.

But both James Berrett, who played for the Republic of Ireland Under 19s in their 1-0 defeat by the Czech Republic in Drogheda on Tuesday, and Danny Racchi have been hit by illness.

Swindon, meanwhile, will hope left-back Miguel Comminges returns unscathed from Guadeloupe’s game in Trinidad on Wednesday.

Striker Simon Cox is in line for a first game since completing a permanent switch from Reading as Swindon try to foil Town’s hopes of keeping a fourth straight clean sheet.

Town’s reserve match at Walsall, postponed twice this week, will now take place at the Banks’s Stadium on Wednesday (2.00).