Matlock Town manager on Warrington Town play-off clash

However, he insisted all the pressure for tonight’s game will be on Yellows in front of a large and no doubt partisan home crowd at Cantilever Park.

> Everything you need to know about Warrington Town vs Matlock Town

Thanks to a run of five wins and a draw from their last six matches, the Gladiators were able to come from behind to pip Hyde United and Radcliffe to the final spot in the Northern Premier League Premier Division’s end-of-season shake-up.

It means they will contest the play-offs for the second season running – they were beaten in last year’s semi-finals by Scarborough Athletic, who went on to beat Yellows in the final to secure promotion to the National League North.

Matlock finished nine points behind Town in the final table and their two league games against them yielded 3-1 defeat at Cantilever Park in October and a goalless draw in Derbyshire in February.

They arrive in Cheshire as underdogs, but Carruthers is backing his side to “achieve the impossible.”

“I’m so proud of the lads for the effort they’ve put in to get us into the play-offs, especially with the injuries, suspensions and unavailability issues we’ve had to contend with,” he told the club’s official website.

“It was a great feeling when the final whistle went at Marine on Saturday. Now we’ve got to go again and again give our magnificent fans something to shout about.

“It’ll be a tough game – they didn’t finish second in the league for nothing – but I want our lads and fans to enjoy it.

“There’s no pressure on us at all as nobody outside of the club is expecting us to win. The pressure’s on Warrington to produce the goods in front of their own fans.

“Games don’t come any tougher than Warrington away. They’re a fantastic footballing side – as good as any team I’ve seen this season.

“We’re the underdogs for sure but we’re in a great run of form. It’ll take a special performance to beat them, but this Gladiators team can achieve the impossible.”