Ruben Rodrigues believes a second or third-place finish in the National League is not beyond the reach of Notts County this season.
The Magpies are currently sixth in the table with eight games of the regular campaign remaining. Ian Burchnall's men are pushing for a place in the play-offs as leaders Stockport County are 15 points ahead of them in the solitary automatic promotion spot, with a game in hand.
But Notts have not given up hope of catching the likes of challengers Wrexham and Halifax, which could be decisive in their bid to secure a return to the EFL. The teams finishing as runners-up and in third spot are guaranteed a home semi-final in the play-offs.
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Meanwhile, those sides finishing between fourth and seventh will have to battle it out in "eliminator" ties for the chance of an away semi-final. The Magpies know this all too well, having beaten Chesterfield 3-2 at Meadow Lane in last season's play-off eliminator before losing 4-2 away to Torquay United in their semi-final.
Notts are currently on a good run of form - unbeaten in four outings - and travel to Torquay on Saturday (3pm kick-off). Rodrigues, who scored a hat-trick in last weekend's 3-0 win at Southend United, said: "It was a massive three points. I think we've been very good lately.
"We had a spell in March where things were a bit down but I think we came back strong. Southend is not an easy place to go, on a difficult pitch, so to win 3-0 away... I think we've done really well these past couple of weeks."
Asked about the significance of finishing second or third, Portuguese forward Rodrigues added: "It's very important - that's what we're aiming for, of course. You're aiming for first place but, to be fair, Stockport are doing very well this season.
"So now we've got to aim for second or third place to play at home in the semi-final. Because you've seen last season how difficult it was in the quarter-final against Chesterfield, and then the away game against Torquay, you see how much of a difference that made...
"A home tie is what we're aiming for and we know we have eight games left, against the bottom 10 of the league (apart from 11th-placed Torquay), so we're aiming for eight wins. We know other teams are going to lose points because they have to play each other, so it's our time to step up."
As things stand, Notts are seven points adrift of second-placed Wrexham, who have a game in hand on them and thrashed Barnet 6-0 on Tuesday night. The Magpies are six points behind third-placed Halifax, having played the same number of matches.
Solihull Moors and Chesterfield are also above them but within reach, with Grimsby Town just behind. And Boreham Wood will still fancy their play-off chances - only five points behind Burchnall's side, with two games in hand.
