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George Johnston says Wanderers will head into the play-offs “full of confidence” following their 3-2 win at Bristol Rovers.
Shola Shoretire, Dan Nlundulu and Aaron Morley were all on target for the Whites at the Memorial Stadium.
Johnston reckons they showed “the right attitude” against the Gas despite having already secured a top six spot.
The defender is pleased with their form during the business end of the season and hopes they can carry it into the first leg of their semi-final against Barnsley next weekend.
“That was our aim - to be in the mix (for promotion) come the end of the season,” he said.
“Coming into the game, we wanted to put ourselves in a good spot full of confidence for next weekend, and we have done that.
“Some lads needed minutes and some needed a rest. Obviously, whoever comes in is more than capable of doing a job.
“There were a lot of changes during the game and their system caused us some problems at times. It was about just communicating as well as we could.
“A few lapses in concentration and communication led to their two goals but we scored enough to win the game.
“You want to go in with confidence. It was about being professional and having the right attitude today, and I think we showed that.”
Barnsley suffered a 2-0 defeat against Peterborough, who clinched the remaining play-off spot ahead of Derby. The Rams were beaten 1-0 by Sheffield Wednesday, playing the second half with 10 men after Curtis Davies was given his marching orders.
Barnsley are now without a win in their last three matches as Michael Duff’s side aim to secure an immediate return to the Championship.
Wanderers ran out 3-0 winners at Oakwell earlier this season, with Dion Charles, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Kyle Dempsey all getting on the scoresheet that day.
While the Tykes finished five points above the Whites in the table, Johnston insists it will count for nothing once the sides step over the white line.
“We are full of confidence,” he added. “When you go into the play-offs, the league position goes out of the window and it is just a semi-final over two legs, then go and win the final. It is just three games for us now and that is all we are focusing on.
“It is the first time (in the play-offs) for me and the first time for a lot of the guys. I think we will be leaning on the ones who have been in that position before.
“But as far as I’m concerned, it will just be the same weekly schedule as usual for playing on a Saturday. We will go into it the same we would any other game.”
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