Marcus Dinanga: Telford laying foundations for play-off challenge

Rob Edwards’s men, who have won five of their last seven in all competitions, head to North Ferriby United on Saturday before taking on Gainsborough Trinity next Tuesday.

Dinanga has rifled ten goals since joining on loan from Championship outfit Burton Albion back in August and believes there is potentially something special brewing at the New Bucks Head.

“I’ve got a really good feeling about this season. Our form is improving, particularly at home and confidence in the team is growing,” he said.

“I really think the minimum we can achieve is he play-offs.”

Telford currently sit 14th in the table but just three points adrift of seventh spot, which would be good enough for a play-off spot in the division’s now expanded post-season tournament.

Dinanga believes both an improving team spirit and increased familiarity has been a key factor in form which has seen the Bucks win their last four at home, including last Saturday’s 3-1 FA Cup fourth qualifying round win over FC United of Manchester, in which the 20-year-old netted twice in stoppage time.

Edwards’s arrival at the club during the summer, replacing Rob Smith as manager, led to some predictable upheaval of the playing staff but Dinanga believes the team are now beginning to gel.

“At the start of the season we were still getting to know each other,” he said. “I think now you can see we are playing more as a team.

“We can’t take anything for granted in these next two games. There are no teams in this division who are just going to hand you the points. We have to be on our game.”

Dinanga’s goal tally has already taken him past the nine scored by last season’s top scorer Josh Wilson and he is already a third of the way to his ambitious target of 30 for the campaign.

But he added: “I’ve got ten goals now in 14 games. If I'm being honest, I’d still like to have scored more by this point. I always want more.”