Paul Ince's MK Dons appear to be racing towards the League Two title but behind them there a host of teams battling to get into the promotion picture. Stockport made a slow start to the campaign but an impressive run of form over Christmas has lifted the club from 17th place to 10th and they will now be harbouring plans to break into the top seven. Last weekend Jim Gannon's men came from behind to win 2-1 at Notts County, with big striker Liam Dickinson grabbing the winner to take his seasonal tally to ten. Givemefootball's Mark Shail caught up with Dickinson in the build-up to this Saturday's clash with Accrington.
Q:YOU MUST BE PLEASED WITH HOW WELL THINGS HAVE GONE IN RECENT WEEKS?
A:Yes, it's been going really well, although last night we were beaten by Grimsby in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy after we actually scored two own goals. But the win at Notts County last weekend was a good result, especially considering we went a goal down early on but we showed our battling qualities to fight back and get the victory.
Q:AND A GOAL FOR YOU TO TAKE YOU TO DOUBLE FIGURES?
A:Yes, I got seven goals last season and seven the year before so to get to ten at this stage of the campaign is very satisfying. I actually missed seven or eight games earlier in the season because I was out with a broken hand, so to bounce back and score ten already is very pleasing.
Q:HAVE YOU SET YOURSELF A GOALS TARGET?
A:Before the start of the season I said I wanted to get ten and now I've reached that figure I'll try to push on and get 15. It would be nice to think I could get to 15 goals and even better if I could get close to the 20-mark. Obviously I'll be hoping to stay injury-free but at the end of the day all you can do is take each game at a time and not look too far ahead.
Q:I SUPPOSE CONSISTENCY WILL BE KEY IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON?
A:That is what we didn't show early in the season but we are playing much better now and very hopeful that we can make an impact during the rest of the campaign. If we can continue to show a consistent level of form there is no reason why we can't be in the promotion shake-up.
Q:SO YOU THINK A PLAY-OFF PLACE IS A REAL POSSIBILITY?
A:This league is so unpredictable anything can happen. MK Dons are flying at the moment and look like they are running away with it but there are plenty of teams behind them who will be eyeing a play-off place – including us. A couple of weeks ago we were in 17th place and now we’re up to 10th - that just shows you how quickly you can climb the table with a few wins under your belt.
Q:AND IT'S ACCRINGTON AT HOME THIS WEEKEND?
A:Yes, it's not going to be an easy game because they are a very physical, well organised outfit. They've come up this season and are doing really well so we'll have to be at our best to get a result. But, apart from that defeat against Grimsby last night, we've been playing well so we'll go into the match with a lot of confidence and hopefully get another three points.
