MALDON and Tiptree manager Steve Ball believes his side still have a chance of making the Ryman North play-offs this season.

And he feels striving for promotion is not the only incentive for the Jammers’ squad, as the campaign reaches a conclusion.

Maldon currently lie eight points off the top five with five games remaining, ahead of their trip to play Soham Town Rangers on Saturday.

It is a tall order for them to reach the play-offs but boss Ball feels his players will be suitably motivated, especially with squad places up for grabs for next season.

Ball said: “I’m not going to discount the play-offs – I’ve been in football long enough to know that anything can happen. If we can get the gap down to five points with four games to go, then who knows? It’s still not over and there’s also the bigger picture to think about.

“I think people can now see what we’ve done in the first year and next year promises to be a very exciting one, in terms of the project we have here.

“Several players have come to us and shown a real desire to come and play for us next year.

“It’s up to the players we already have here to show that they also want to be a part of it here next season.”

Maldon were left kicking their heels on Easter Monday after their derby match with Heybridge Swifts was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch at Park Drive. They were hoping to follow up their impressive 2-0 win at Wroxham last Saturday, where Billy Roast and Rhys Henry were on target.

“Our form has been great since the start of the year,” added Ball.

“We had a bit of a blip against Dereham but it was really positive against Wroxham, who are down there fighting for their lives.

“We approached the game in the right way and it was a convincing performance.

“I think the players are maturing well – the one thing they’ve learnt is that it’s a difficult league and every single game presents a different challenge. Now we’ve got our heads around that, we’ve shown some great form. It’s a shame that we haven’t got more games left this year.

“But it shows that we’ve been on a really good run and it all bodes well for next season.”

Maldon will be without Sam Newson for their game at Soham Town Rangers this weekend.