Michael Smith says FC St Helens still have work to do, despite being within touching distance of North West Counties promotion.
The Stripes moved one step closer to booking their place in the Premier Division for the first time in their 10-year existence.
Their 3-1 win over Holker Old Boys moved them to within two points of the title, and they could enjoy their crowning moment with a win over Runcorn Town on Friday.
“It’s a massive chance, we’ve won 23 games this season and everyone probably think it’s a guarantee, but we’ve got to go out and do a job for 90 minutes,” he told Off The Park. “Whether it’s a scrappy 1-0 or we do it in style, it’s about getting three points then we can enjoy Friday.
“The lads were buzzing after the win, the changing room was bouncing, they’re all looking forward to Friday. Again, the message was: ‘rest up, we’ve still got a job to do on Friday, we can’t get ahead of ourselves’. Two points from three games, you’d think we can get that but until it’s done, you can’t settle.
“It’d be unbelievable, we’ve looked at the fixtures over the last month and you’re working things out but we had to keep doing our jobs.
“If people dropped points around us, that’s a bonus, but LR have been tremendous all season, they’ve kept winning games so it has gone down to Good Friday. It should be a good day – if we get it done.”
The Stripes last suffered defeat in the league in November and have won their last four. Smith has praised his side after demanding that his players continue setting the pace, last month.
He added: “It was about not letting anyone gain any ground on us and apart from Atherton LR, everyone has dropped points. LR have been flying and came closest so it was important that we kept momentum because they didn’t look like dropping points, with the pressure we’ve been under as well, the performances have been great.
“The lads were frustrated on Saturday at half-time against Nelson, we know we’ll always create chances, defensively we’re solid and it’s about not getting at each other’s throats because we hadn’t scored a goal. We said chances will come, and they did, we could’ve had a couple more but at this stage, you’ll take it, it’s just about three points.
“The message has been the same, regardless of where we are after 70 minutes, as long as we’re not behind, there’s no need to panic. There will be nerves so the first 15 minutes there is probably nerves but as soon as that passes, we find our game and that’s when we show what we’re about.”
