I was struck by a Staffordshire news report that said Port Vale still had to play Cheltenham, Burton and Northampton in their last 9 games and I thought it might be worth checking out the respective run-ins of the promotion/play-off rivals who are currently above us.
I don't think we'll catch the Gills as they're 15 points clear of us now, so I'll leave them out. But of the others:
Southend: WIMBLEDON, TORQUAY, PLYMOUTH, Rochdale, Bradford, FLEETWOOD, BRISTOL ROVERS, Aldershot, York, MORECAMBE:
Exeter: GILLINGHAM, BRADFORD, Rotherham, Plymouth, ROCHDALE, DAGENHAM, Wimbledon, CHELTENHAM, Chesterfield
Cheltenham: ROTHERHAM, Barnet, Port Vale, NORTHAMPTON, Plymouth, GILLINGHAM, Exeter, BRADFORD
Northampton: Morecambe, Wycombe, OXFORD, TORQUAY, Cheltenham, Bradford, YORK, Port Vale, BARNET
Rotherham: Wycombe, Cheltenham, EXETER, WIMBLEDON, Gillingham, Morecambe, FLEETWOOD, Bradford, Plymouth, ALDERSHOT
Burton: Aldershot, Dagenham, WYCOMBE, CHESTERFIELD, Accrington, Port Vale, PLYMOUTH, Bradford, GILLINGHAM
Port Vale: Bristol Rovers, York, ALDERSHOT, CHELTENHAM, Chesterfield, BURTON, Rochdale, NORTHAMPTON, Wycombe
I think looking at that, we have one of the (on paper!) easier run-ins - Cheltenham's in particular looks a nasty fixture list, playing all teams who have got something to play for.
Also, I've got a bit of a soft spot for Plymouth and they seem to have some mighty tricky games coming up - really hope they survive (at the expense of Aldershot and Accrington!)
I don't think we'll catch the Gills as they're 15 points clear of us now, so I'll leave them out. But of the others:
Southend: WIMBLEDON, TORQUAY, PLYMOUTH, Rochdale, Bradford, FLEETWOOD, BRISTOL ROVERS, Aldershot, York, MORECAMBE:
Exeter: GILLINGHAM, BRADFORD, Rotherham, Plymouth, ROCHDALE, DAGENHAM, Wimbledon, CHELTENHAM, Chesterfield
Cheltenham: ROTHERHAM, Barnet, Port Vale, NORTHAMPTON, Plymouth, GILLINGHAM, Exeter, BRADFORD
Northampton: Morecambe, Wycombe, OXFORD, TORQUAY, Cheltenham, Bradford, YORK, Port Vale, BARNET
Rotherham: Wycombe, Cheltenham, EXETER, WIMBLEDON, Gillingham, Morecambe, FLEETWOOD, Bradford, Plymouth, ALDERSHOT
Burton: Aldershot, Dagenham, WYCOMBE, CHESTERFIELD, Accrington, Port Vale, PLYMOUTH, Bradford, GILLINGHAM
Port Vale: Bristol Rovers, York, ALDERSHOT, CHELTENHAM, Chesterfield, BURTON, Rochdale, NORTHAMPTON, Wycombe
I think looking at that, we have one of the (on paper!) easier run-ins - Cheltenham's in particular looks a nasty fixture list, playing all teams who have got something to play for.
Also, I've got a bit of a soft spot for Plymouth and they seem to have some mighty tricky games coming up - really hope they survive (at the expense of Aldershot and Accrington!)