Town get set for the final fixture of the 2023/24 tomorrow when they travel across the Pennines to face Salford City.

And having already secured a highest ever points total as a League Two side Simon Weaver’s side know that a victory could see them record a first ever top-half finish.

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Our opponents

After reaching the playoffs last season, there were high hopes that the Ammies could again be amongst the sides challenging for promotion.

However, the season has not panned out that way and for much of the season they have been amongst the sides at the wrong end of the table, also seeing the departure of manager Neil Woods in late December.

Coming into the game, they are in 20^th position with last weekend's 1-0 win at Newport ending a run of four successive defeats. They also have the second worst home record in the division, winning only five games and averaging a point per game.

Previous meetings

Early in the season, Town posted a 3-2 win at The Enivrovent Stadium with Abraham Odoh grabbing a winner ten minutes from time after Salford had cancelled out George Thomson and Sam Folarin’s early strikes that put Town 2-0 ahead.

The victory was Town’s first in League Two against the Ammies and at the Peninsula Stadium there have been two draws and a defeat in the three games to date.

Last season Matty Lund levelled late on to deny Town victory after Jack Muldoon had struck early in the second-half. In 2021/22 a brace from Matt Smith secured a 2-0 win for the hosts whilst back in the 2020/21 season Ed Francis rescued a late point with an injury time goal to level matters at 2-2, with Jack Muldoon having earlier fired home an equaliser.

The man in charge

Karl Robinson was appointed as boss in early January following the departure of Neil Woods. He has won seven and drawn six of his 20 games in charge so far.

Robinson’s first job as a manager came at just 29 years of age when he took charge of MK Dons, where he spent almost six seasons and guided the club to promotion to the Championship in 2014/15. He also had a brief spell at Charlton Athletic before taking charge at Oxford until early 2023, which included two appearances in the League One playoffs.

Ones to watch

The standout performer of the season has undoubtedly been striker Matt Smith, with the veteran posting 24 goals during the campaign. Forward Callum Hendry has eight goals.

Midfielders Connor McAleny and Ryan Watson have six goals apiece with Watson also notching five assists. Elliott Watt has six assists on the season.

Goalkeeper and captain Alex Cairns has been an ever present during the campaign with defender Curtis Tilt missing just one game in a strong first season at the club. Harrogate-born Luke Garbutt has also impressed after joining from Blackpool last summer.

History

The club has of course had a rapid rise to reach this level, appearing at the North West Counties League level little over a decade ago.

The club were initially founded in 1940 as Salford Central, playing in local area leagues before joining the Manchester League in the 1960’s where they enjoyed a sustained period of success. They then became founder members of the North West Counties League in 1982 before moving up to the Northern Premier League.

The takeover of the club by the ‘Class of 92’ in 2014 whilst members of the Norther Premier League kickstarted the rise to Football League status and the club reached National League North in 2016 before achieving league status in 2019.

Team news

Town report a clean bill of health heading into this one.