SWINDON Town manager John Sheridan says spending even a few days outside of the relegation zone is a great relief to his side.

Town’s weekend-victory over Crewe Alexandra lifted Sheridan’s men up to 20th – two points ahead of AFC Wimbledon and Northampton Town – prior to a tough test against Lincoln City this evening.

Victory over Wigan Athletic at the beginning of February had seen Town jump out of the bottom four, though the County-Ground outfit fell back in following consecutive losses to Shrewsbury Town and Portsmouth, respectively.

With seven teams expected to fight it out for three spots in League One next season, Sheridan says his team cannot keep looking elsewhere for teams to do them favours – Town must take care of their own business if they want to avoid an immediate return to League Two.

He said: “When you’re out of the bottom four, it’s always a relief. The higher you climb after you win a game, the better it feels.

“We’re not going to jump much higher than seventh or eighth from bottom anyway. I think those teams in that area are there for the remainder. But if you can sneak some points and find yourself four or five points away from the bottom four, it would be a massive relief for us.

“We know we’re going to be up and down, and things will change quickly because teams in and around the bottom four are playing each other in the next two games. We’ve just got to look after ourselves.”