Hednesford Town boss Gary Birch not giving up on play-offs

After a good spell in caretaker charge – winning four of eight games following the sacking of Paul Casey last month – the ex-Walsall striker was announced as the new Pitmen chief on Wednesday.

The side are 13th in the table and nine points off the top five, with a couple of games in hand over some of the chasers.

"I have always said we will take each game as it comes," said Birch.

"That being said, we are still looking at the play-offs – and the lads understand that.

"Until it is not mathematically possible, that's what we will be targeting.

"Whether we get there or not, we are looking to have a strong finish and see where it takes us.

"Then we can look at it in the summer and see where we are at."

Hednesford have had a chaotic last 18 months and Birch is the sixth permanent boss at the club since the start of last term – following on from Rob Smith, Bernard McNally, Frank Sinclair, Liam McDonald and Casey.

Tomorrow, they will travel to Leicestershire to face Coalville Town.

The hosts are four places and 10 points worse off than the Pitmen – who made it to the semi-finals of the Staffordshire Senior Cup with a 3-2 win against Wolverhampton Sporting on Tuesday night.

"We drew with them at home and they are a difficult side to play against. It will be a tough game," said Birch.

"We are prepared for it, we always make sure we are prepared as you cannot take any team team lightly in this league.

"The lads know what they need to do and let's realise that these players are playing for their futures now.

"They need to prove they belong here and show what they can do between now and the end of the season because, over the summer, we will be taking a look at it and looking to make us a really strong side."

Central defender Joe Ballinger will be looking to make his Hednesford debut.

The former Barwell man joined the club last week but was an unused substitute as Birch's charges lost 2-0 to Workington Town at Keys Park last weekend.

His arrival was announced at the same time as Mansfield Town youngsters Louis Danquah and Bradley Peace-McDonald, and ex-Stafford Rangers winger George Cater. Danquah and Cater both made substitute appearances against Workington, but Peace-McDonald was not involved.