FC Halifax Town: Denton convinced Shaymen can crank up the pressure on Fylde

Fylde are seven points ahead of Town with four games to play, but have seen their 11-point lead reduced to six over the past month and lost at strugglers Stalybridge last time out.

Denton, Town’s top-scorer with 18 goals after netting the winner against Alfreton last Saturday, believes Fylde are feeling the pressure of leading the way in the title race.

He said: “Fylde have said they need to win three games to win the league and they’ve lost again. Anything can happen at this stage.

“I think they’d take a draw now but we’ll come right at them and it should be a top game.

“I don’t think they’ll be as positive as they were earlier in the season. It was 3-2 at their place between us but I think they’ll be cautious.

“We’ll have to be patient but we’ve got to go for the win. It will be tight and chances will be limited but I think we’ll win.

“We’ve been playing well against the top sides and there’s massive pressure on them now. I fancy us on Friday.”

If Town don’t win the league, Denton is focused on finishing as high in the table as possible.

“Firstly we have to cement our play-off place,” he said. “I said before Saturday I thought we needed two wins so I think we probably need another four points to get us in there.

“But then you want to finish as high as you can to get us a final at The Shay.

“A lot of the players here from Ferriby have been in and around the play-offs for the last four seasons, and we’re right up there again this season.

“We’ve got that experience so we know what we need to do. We’ve just got to keep going.

“We thought Fylde would beat Stalybridge but them losing has opened the league back up, and what a weekend it’ll be now.

“We had to win on Saturday. We said before the game that not everyone in the top five would win so we had to make sure we took care of our own business.

“There’s so many twists and turns and there’ll be a couple more before the end of the season.”

Denton is satisfied with his goal tally for the season, and is aiming for more before the season’s end.

He added: “I had 14 at Christmas so I’ve had a bad couple of months, but I’ve turned it round so I’m happy with that and hopefully I can push on and get as many as I can now.

“I’ve got 20-goals-plus in the last three seasons so hopefully I can do that again.

“We’ve won four and drawn one in the last five and I’ve played a part in that. I thought I was having a nightmare before I scored on Saturday though.”