Ian Allinson is confident the prize of getting into the play-offs will be enough for St Albans City to banish the malaise when playing teams at the wrong end of the division.
Saints’ historic 3-0 win away to Bath City hoisted them temporarily into the final play-off place with just three games to go.
The first of those comes tomorrow (Good Friday) when East Thurrock United, second from bottom of National League South and who could be relegated with a loss, visit Clarence Park.
But City have a nasty habit of coming unstuck against clubs in difficulty.
Defeats to Whitehawk and Bognor Regis Town in the final six games of last year, both sides subsequently relegated, cost Saints a place in the end of season promotion battle.
And a disastrous second half against Gloucester just four games ago proves they are still capable of slipping up.
The City boss though believes this year is different.
He said: “We don’t approach any game where we underestimate the opposition. I’ve never done that in football because I know how cruel this game is.
“All the adulation we’ve taken from the Bath game could quite easily be undone by a performance that doesn’t reach the levels we require.
“I just hope that something has grabbed these boys in the last couple of weeks and sometimes you get a little bit of a feeling that players have grasped what you’re trying to do.
“They know they’ve got a prize at the end and hopefully that undoes the attitude of playing a side like East Thurrock who are second from bottom.”
At the other end just four points separate six teams looking to fill the final three play-off places.
And Allinson wants one final push from his players.
He said: “We’re probably going to have win two and draw one to have a chance but even then a lot of the teams around us have to play each other.
“We’ve dragged Bath into it again and are only three points behind them.
“Hopefully the players realise we’re on to something and plan and prepare properly but if they think it is going to be easy against East Thurrock, then like the second half against Gloucester we’ll get our backsides smacked.
“They’ve worked hard to get to where we are, now let’s try and stay there.”
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