MIDFIELDER Jak McCourt says the Swindon Town squad will not allow the prospect of a potential League Two play-off place cause a distraction in the camp.

Victories away at Milton Keynes Dons and at home to Forest Green Rovers last week saw Richie Wellens’ side trim the gap to the top seven and give hope that an extended good run of form between now and the end of the season could push Town further into the reckoning.

Swindon were unable to trim that deficit further this weekend following the postponement of their scheduled trip to Newport County due to the Exiles’ involvement in the FA Cup.

Following the latest batch of fixtures, Wellens’ side are down in 14th place, but only six points below Carlisle United in the last of the play-off spots.

Although keen to continue their rise up the table, McCourt says the Swindon players and management staff are not getting overly carried away by their recent feats.

“Our play-off push is definitely back on, but we’re not emphasising on that,” said McCourt.

“We’re taking things game by game. We were concentrating on the points gap, and I think that has helped us – as oppose to focusing on the play-offs.

“Even though we know it (the play-offs) is there in the back of our minds – the players, staff and fans – we’re not mentioning it in the dressing room.

“It will only put a bit of added pressure on ourselves if we do think about it.

“The win at Milton Keynes was massive. Hopefully that will kick-start a positive run for us. Even our win against Forest Green – it was a local derby and we turned up.

“I thought that we were the better team by far, and it perhaps shows that we were under achieving before. We should be pushing on from here now.”

The Town squad were afforded a rare weekend off during the season due to their fixtureless Saturday.

Although McCourt would have liked the chance to try to keep up the recent good run, the midfielder admits the luxury of a mental and physical break at home with family is most welcome to the squad.

“We’ve had a couple of days off. We had the game on Tuesday (against Forest Green) and have worked hard since then,” said McCourt.

“The manager told us to go home and spend it with our families and kids and report back to training on Monday.

“People might look at it and see that we’ve had two wins and want to keep the run going. But having a break helps. I live away from my family and the two kids.

“It’s nice to get home and spend some quality time with them. It charges the batteries and I’ll be ready to go again.

“A weekend like we’ve just had is one we all treasure – it is rare.

“Especially when you’re not in the Premier League or Championship – there are no international breaks.

“It is a bonus, and as soon as I get home, I try to switch off.

“But I’ll be back working hard on Monday morning – that’s when all the preparation starts.”