MELKSHAM Town manager Kieran Baggs believes his side face two season-defining games over the next fortnight, starting at home to Bideford on Saturday, writes JONATHAN LEIGHFIELD.

Despite only winning twice over the course of their last eight games, Melksham find themselves just two points outside the Southern League Division One South play-off places with 14 games to go.

Baggs has made no secret of the fact that he believes his players are over-achieving in their debut season at Southern League level and said it would be an “unbelievable achievement” if Melksham were to extend their season into May.

The InfiLED Arena outfit are set to face the two teams directly below them in the league table over the next couple of weeks – with a trip to Cinderford Town following the game against Bideford at the weekend.

Baggs says those two fixtures could make or break Melksham’s season and if positive results are picked up, an unlikely shot at the play-offs could be on the cards.

He said: “This season is all about figuring where we are as a club. We don’t have that firepower financially to compete with the top six to 10 teams in the league, so at the moment, we are over-achieving.

“We’re two points off the play-offs and we’ve got massive games that will define our season coming up in the next two weeks.

“We’ve got Bideford, who are two points below us, and then Cinderford, who are a point below us. If we can grab some results from those games, it will give us a good picture of where we’re going to be going into the final 10 or 12 games of the season.

“If we manage to get into the play-offs, it would be an unbelievable achievement for Melksham in their first season in the Southern League and the players will deserve all the credit.

“But if not, we will use this season as a platform to build on for next year.”

Baggs feels he is now in a position where he has his strongest squad available to him and as a result, performances have begun to pick up in the last few games.

The Town chief believes that with a sprinkling of investment into his already talented squad, a genuine mount for promotion could be achieved – if not this season, then certainly next.

Baggs said: “It would really help us to be able to have the same squad for every single week.

“We’ve had a mixed squad since the start of the season – people have been injured and suspended, which happens, I know.

“We’ll sit down at the end of the season and see what everyone’s ambitions are – the chairman and the board – and see what they want to achieve next season. I think the squad could be added to with two or three more and it might be able to compete.”