Promotion is up to us - Boothroyd

In his weekly email address Golden Boys manager, Aidy Boothroyd explains why he feels Crystal Palace are no better than us, before turning his thoughts to the last five games, starting with Luton Town on Sunday.

I don't know about you but I felt that Friday night's game took a lot of getting over. I always try to be objective and to look at what went wrong and what went well in detail after every match but I found it very hard to deal with the fact that it was us who lost the game rather than Crystal Palace who won it.

If you look at their three goals – 2 own goals and a penalty – it hits you in the face that they didn't have to work particularly hard for any of them. Make no mistake, Crystal Palace are a good side but they are not better than us. The result may suggest that they are but the story behind it suggests to me that it's only us who can decide whether we get promoted or not.

Because of Friday, we're coming off back to back losses for the first time all season. It's a measure of the qualities of the team that we've got to April and that's only just happened for the first time. If we want to be successful, we have to make sure that we start to really step up now. We've done remarkably well in the first 41 games and we need to hone in on the last five to push for an automatic slot.

As we saw again at the weekend, a lot of the other teams have also slightly wobbled. At this time of the season, good players became good, nervous players so we need to be calm and relentless on the pitch and not to shout too loud off it. Sunday's game against Luton is as big a game as we'll have for the rest of the season, not just because of the local rivalry but also because we need to get back on track and show that we're serious about promotion, not a flash in the pan.

Luton will come to Vicarage Road wanting to avenge the defeat on 2 January and all that surrounded that. As their season peters out they will have a point to make so we'll have to make sure that we stand up to them, show courage and boldness, stick to our game plan and go all out for the three points. Now is the time for big-game people.

We know we can count on all your support on Sunday and look forward to seeing you there.

Come On!

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