Michael Clunan says it would be 'criminal' for King's Lynn Town to throw away their hard work.
The Linnets have turned a sow's ear into a silk purse after a disastrous start to the season which saw them languishing closer to the relegation zone than the play-off picture.
The campaign almost became a write-off before it got going, but a change of manager – then the return of Ian Culverhouse – and a long unbeaten run sees them bang in the mix.
The only thing leaving a slightly sour taste is their home form which, for a team fourth in the table, is distinctly under-par – six wins, six draws and two defeats.
Linnets skipper Clunan knows that has to be rectified, starting with Saturday's game against Redditch United at The Walks.
'We have to improve at home massively,' Clunan told the club's official web site. 'Our home form hasn't been good enough and it is something we need to put right. I think we only lost one game at home last season and this campaign it has been the draws which have been killing us at our place.'
Clunan also points to the other side of the coin – the reversal of fortunes after that poor start.
'After seven or eight games of the season, I think if you'd have said to the fans that we'd be towards the top near the end, then there would have been a few questions asked,' he said. 'We went on a great unbeaten run of 19 games and put ourselves in a position where we are expected to be in the play-offs. The lads have done great and I think they deserve a bit of credit to think where they've come from
'We were 19th in the league at one point and now we are in the top five so it would be criminal to throw it all away now.'
Culverhouse saw his team lose at AFC Rushden & Diamonds last week and wants a response.
'It's about bouncing back from last Saturday, staying strong and trying to put another run together between now and the end of the season,' he said. 'Every time we got into a crossing position or put a ball into the box against Rushden it wasn't good enough and that's something we need to improve against Redditch. 'It's the little details and fundamentals that we have to be spot-on with now. If we do that then the next 13 games we will be fine.'
Lynn will face Alvechurch on Tuesday, March 19 – the match was postponed a fortnight ago because of a frozen pitch.
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