Boss Gary Setchell is demanding his players deliver a performance today - because he believes the King's Lynn Town fans deserve one.

The Linnets United Counties Premier Division title hopes have fallen apart in the last fortnight thanks to a 2-1 defeat to Long Buckby and a miserable 1-1 draw against Desborough Town at The Walks on Saturday.

Only a Buckby defeat at home to Blackstones - a side they hammered 11-1 recently - and a Lynn win at Cogenhoe United this afternoon can prevent Setchell's side from a consecutive second-placed finish. Glen Cotterill's outfit can even afford to draw and still win the title, thanks to their vastly superior goal difference.

It leaves the Linnets boss admitting his side need to win to give something back to their fans after a demoralising end to a league campaign which promised so much up to two weeks ago.

Setchell said: 'The players owe a performance. On Tuesday at training we had a good chat and the players were disappointed with their performance on Saturday.

'It was a culmination of the Long Buckby hangover and then the kick in the teeth of their 11-1 win over Blackstones in the week. We knew the league title was well out of our own hands and it showed. We were flat and we didn't do ourselves justice.

'It's important that the lads give a reaction because they deserve to finish the season on a high with two victories. The players need to put in a performance for the 150 or so that will travel from Lynn to support us. They've been brilliant all season and some of the players owe them, and themselves, a performance.'

Captain Ross Watson, in his weekly captain's column in this paper's Lynn Free Press supplement on Thursday, and midfielder Rob Hughes, via Twitter, have publicly stated their support for their manager, who has come in for criticism on the club's fans' forum this week.

While Setchell admits he's pleased he has the backing of the pair, he insists he needs to see their football do the talking.

The Linnets boss said: 'It's nice to have players backing you in the press or on Twitter because they see how hard I work. They understand because they work hard too.

'We'd have two bad results but the dressing room is together. We win and lose together. But the only way players can repay a manager is by producing the goods on the pitch. No player can come to me and be upset if they're not playing today.

'We're looking to put things right and there's cup final places to play for. It's not the day we wanted but we can't make any excuses for that. It's our own fault and we have to take it on the chin. The lads have worked really hard this year and we want to finish on a high.'

Defender Stuart Wall (back/groin) and Jason Turner (ankle) are injury doubts for a Lynn side who still have a UCL League Cup final against St Ives Town to look forward to on May 7 - and possible promotion to Step Four after Buckby's ground was deemed to be not good enough for higher-level football.

Setchell said: 'There's still a chance Buckby could slip-up and we could win it. Who would have thought they'd have lost to Yaxley?

'It's not over till it's over and that final whistle has been blown. We must do our own job and hope for a minor miracle. I told the lads they can be proud of what they've achieved. To get more than 100 points in two seasons is fantastic.

'It'll be tough if we don't win the league but if we get promotion, albeit by finishing second, it'll still be a season of relative success.'