SWINDON Town manager John Sheridan has called on his team to take advantage of being at home against Northampton Town on Saturday as the race for survival continues to hot up.

The County Ground is set to host its final match against a bottom-seven outfit with all of Town’s other fixtures against League One’s strugglers coming on the road in the final 16 games.

A victory for the home side would see Sheridan’s men produce an unprecedented three-game unbeaten run at a time in the season in which momentum is vital.

And following a highly encouraging showing during the 2-2 draw with high-flying Lincoln City on Tuesday night, the Town boss is desperate to see his players follow that up by taking three points against a fellow relegation rival on Saturday.

Sheridan said: “Saturday’s game will be a completely different one to Lincoln. Northampton will be a team who come and make it very difficult for us. They’ll be fighting for the cause – they’ll see it as an opportunity to gain some ground on us, so we’ve got to take advantage of being at home and playing against a team that is around us.

“When we play against the teams in the bottom seven, it’s important we take advantage and try to win these games. These will be the important ones, and probably the ones that really matter, but if we play like we did against Lincoln in the next few games we’ll be alright.”

The continuation of positive momentum will be key for Swindon with a trio of fixtures following Northampton that would not be high on the list of desired options. Trips to Sunderland and Accrington Stanley precede a home derby against Oxford United.

But the Town boss says his side has no reason to fear anyone in the division if they play as he knows they can do.

Sheridan said: “Our next few games don’t get much tougher, against Sunderland and Accrington, but we’ve got to take the performance from Tuesday into Northampton first and foremost.

“If anyone watched us on Tuesday, you wouldn’t have thought we are where we are. It was a good performance, but it’s no good giving me one this week and then Saturday I’m looking at a different team.

“That performance on Tuesday will win us a lot of games, but we’ve got to back it up now. It’s a big game against a team around us, and a win gives us seven points from three games – that’s a good outcome for any team in any position.”