Horsham FC boss Dominic Di Paola: Play-off battle will go down to the wire

That’s the view of manager Dominic Di Paola as the Hornets prepare to make their final push to finish in the top five.

Horsham, who sit fifth in the table, know four points from their remaining three games will guarantee them a play-off place – and a shot at promotion to the National League South for the first time in the club’s history.

Di Paola said: “We know what we need to get into the play-offs. Everyone’s got excited, which is understandable, but we’re realistic in terms of the situation.

“We knew that it was going to go to the wire. We also knew we weren’t going to have it all our own way.

“We knew the cards we were dealt because of our other successes. There’s no major dramas.

“If it goes to the last minute of the last game and we get in, then we’ll be happy.

“There’s been two or three spells in the season where we didn’t think we’d stand a chance. The fact that we’ve got to do it and it’s in our hands is great.

“It’s up to the boys now. We know what we’ve needed to do since about Christmas, and we’ve won a hell of a lot of games since our bad Christmas period.”

The Hornets visit second-placed Chatham in a potential play-off semi-final dress rehearsal this Saturday before making the trip relegation-threatened Cheshunt on Tuesday.

Di Paola said there was no point ‘griping’ about Horsham’s congested end to the season, but admitted he was concerned about the ‘freshness’ of his players.

He added: “It’s really tough, but we knew it was coming. There’s no point griping about it.

"We knew sooner or later we’d have to fit in the postponements.

“We know Chatham are going to be good. We know that they’re good at home. We also know Cheshunt are fighting for their lives.

“My only concern is the freshness of the boys. We look a bit jaded.

“If you play once a week like some of the teams up there, you’re going to have it a bit easier because you can freshen up during the week and you only have to prepare for one game.”

You can view a Horsham v Cray Wanderers gallery here.