Ossett Albion manager Richard Tracey
Richard Tracey isn’t discussing play-offs ambitions after Ossett Albion climbed into the Evo Stik Division One North top five this week.
Five consecutive league victories have installed Albion as potential play-offs candidates, but Tracey’s main aim remains ensuring his side stay in the Division.
November’s club of the month need five more points to reach the ‘magic’ 40 point mark and until then, play-offs talk is off the agenda.
“Our expectations are still to get enough points on the board to be safe,” Tracey told Non League Yorkshire.
“We get enough points on the board and then we see where it takes us.
“We have an opportunity to do that this month with what you would identify as easier games.
“But, the teams who we have just played in November would have thought the same about us.
“We know the games coming up aren’t going to be easy.
“I do think we have created some excitement though. To win club of the month and being in the play-offs is fantastic.
“I think we have surprised a few people.
“We have gone through November and won club of the month when people would have looked at our fixtures and thought where are they are going to get points from.
“We have stood up and being counted in some difficult conditions.”
How Albion are performing is in sharp contrast to the struggles that Tracey faced in his first full term in charge at Dimple Wells in 2013.
Albion finished second-bottom and only survived because of a reprieve. Since then Tracey has slowly built a team that is capable of beating anyone in the Division.
Explaining how it has all come together, Tracey added: “I think when we took over we didn’t have the quality of player and that’s with no disrespect to players who were here.
“Trying to get players in on our budget was an issue, but now people want to come and that makes a massive difference.
“We signed James Riley from Farsley whereas 18 months ago we would have lost him to another club.
“He would have to Ossett Town or a Counties club. Now people want to come and join and that’s the sign of what we have got right.”
Albion host Radcliffe Borough tomorrow.