Forest Green Rovers manager Jimmy Ball insists his players will be raring to go ahead of their final game of the regular season on Saturday.
The Greens currently occupy the final play-off spot, but need to beat Oldham Athletic to seal a place in the top seven.
Ball has taken charge of five games at the Gloucestershire club since Mark Cooper’s departure, picking up eight points.
Despite the chance of Rovers being overtaken by Exeter City and Salford, Ball says Forest Green will be completely focused on themselves.
He said: “We know what we’ve got to do. We’ve got no thoughts about any other results and it’s all in our hands.
“We fully expect the other two teams to win, so we have to go out and win ourselves to give us three more games to play.
“Confidence is high and they’re in great spirits and looking forward to it. It’s the same pressure as the Tranmere game, but these are the games that you want to play in. This is why you kick the ball around in the playground as a kid.
Forest Green didn’t play in midweek, a rare occurrence in a shortened season because of Covid-19.
It means Ball has had a full week to work with his players, something which may work to the Greens’ advantage ahead of a vital weekend.
He said: “Having a full week of training helps a lot because it hasn’t happened much.
“It’s been a whirlwind in a season like this with Covid, but you’ve got to get through it unscathed and get your men ready to go in the trenches when the whistle blows.”
Ball also highlighted the strength of his side defensively since he took over at The New Lawn, with the team conceding just three goals in their last four.
“The defensive unit have shown the right mentality to deal with really good attacking teams like Exeter and keep clean sheets.
“They’ve been very good since I’ve come in and they’ve known when to ride patches out when the other team get a bit of momentum.”
Despite that, he admits they’ve been lacking a little going forward: “We’ve got to be as expansive as we have been recently. We’ve just not had that final little piece, which is the hardest thing in the game.”
Opponents Oldham are the highest-scoring team in League Two, but have also conceded the most of anyone in the division.
“Oldham are free-wheeling and they’re exciting. We’ll have to do well defensively, but that’s exactly what we’ve been doing.
“They’re very different from what I’ve prepared for so far. I’ve really enjoyed watching them play – yes, they’ve got threats but they’ve also got areas we can exploit.
“We’ve got to play with the right principles in and out of possession.”
The former Southampton academy player will have his team fully motivated for the final of his six ‘cup finals’ in charge.
Ball said: “The games where you win to get in the play-offs or win to get promoted are the games you dream of.
“Everything’s there for you, we just need to be brave and leave it all out there.”
