King's Lynn boss Tommy Taylor insists starting places in the Southern League, Premier Division playoffs are up for grabs against lowly Cirencester today .

King's Lynn boss Tommy Taylor insists starting places in the Southern League, Premier Division playoffs are up for grabs against lowly Cirencester today .

Victory over the Centurions coupled with dropped points for third-placed Bath at relegation-threatened Aylesbury will guarantee home advantage in those end-of-season tussles.

Taylor is definitely without skipper Sam McMahon for the play off semi after his dismissal against Grantham while key defender Grant Cooper faces a fitness battle to shake off a niggling hamstring problem.

"All we are focussed on is beating Cirencester," said Taylor. "Right now I'm not too worried about the play offs. I want to finish second and go into those games with confidence and momentum.

"Cirencester were a good footballing team when we played them earlier in the season with two lively lads up front. I don't expect them to come here and dig in for a point. If its open I'd fancy us against anyone in a game of football.

"They are in the same boat as Banbury and Merthyr - really they have nothing to lose. You saw how Merthyr celebrated and these teams love to put one over on a club like King's Lynn."

The Linnets chief remains supremely confident his squad can rise to the challenge of securing the second promotion spot behind champions Salisbury.

"If Merthyr was a blip I'm glad we had it then," he said. "We didn't need a kick up the backside, but I'm happy with how we responded - the boys look back on their game, but under me no one is guaranteed a place in the side.

"If we do have lads sitting in the stands they are no use. Every one of them is playing for a start. Charlie Defty can come into midfield and do a job alongside Shaun Carey. If Coops isn't fit then Danny Hammond proved at Grantham what an honest lad he is - I know these boys will give me everything."

Midfielder Matt O'Halloran notched a brace to settle December's corresponding fixture and Taylor believes the blond wide man is back to his best in recent weeks.

"On his day Matty can be a matchwinner," he said. "We've switched him over to the left and that allows him to cut inside to have plenty of shots. I felt he should have got on the scoresheet against Banbury last week but he seems to have struck up a nice understanding with Smithy, who gets up and down all day - that's where the winner came from at Grantham."

Keeper Arron Benstead is recalled to the squad after shaking off a lower back problem. Cirencester are without Gareth Hopkins and Scott Fuller (unavailable).

Centurions' boss Brian Hughes admits his strugglers have had a season to forget despite chalking up the same number of away wins as Lynn's play off rivals Chippenham.

"We're safe by default, really," he said. "It's been a harrowing few months trying to drag ourselves out of the relegation places.

"There had been a marked improvement but we were rubbish over Easter. I don't know whether everyone switched off thinking we were safe.

"We've had injuries at key stages of the season and once we started losing games, we couldn't kick it."

King's Lynn (from): Benstead, Higgs, West, Smith, McMahon, Hammond, Camm, J Defty, Anselin, Carey, O'Halloran, Nolan, Charles, C Defty, Peters, Harvey, Hyde.

Lynn will operate a 'kids for a quid' admission offer at today's game.

The club will admit two children (aged 14 and under) for £1 each accompanied by a full paying adult.