A trip to Prescot Cables on Saturday and the visit of Matlock Town next Tuesday sees the Badgers come up against two teams fighting for their lives at the bottom.

But Cox is keen for his players not to take that into account, instead treating them as if they were teams at the top.

He said: "There's a danger of the players going into these games thinking they just need to turn up to win them, but having only managed draws against both earlier in the season we know it won't be as simple as that.

"It doesn't matter who we're playing or where they are in the table - the key thing is we do whatever we have to do to win the games."

Should Eastwood win both matches they could go into the massive Good Friday clash with Ilkeston six points clear, with the Robins only having one league game, at Kendal, before competing in the UniBond League Cup final against Guiseley on Tuesday.

Whilst Ilkeston would still have two games in hand, Cox feels a six-point gap would be a big psychological advantage.

Eastwood have the more favourable run-in of the top three, with Ilkeston and Nantwich still to play each other as well as other teams in the top half.

"The simple fact is that the title is going to be won by whoever wants it most," said Cox.

"It's natural to look at all the various permutations and possibilities should one team win this game and another team lose that one, but we're in the box seat and if we win all our games we're champions, which should be enough motivation in itself for the players.

"If we get six points from these next two games we could be six clear come Good Friday, though Ilkeston have a tough game at Kendal Town so it could be we have an even bigger lead."

Cox felt last Saturday's draw with Kendal was a fair result, but once again bemoaned his side's lack of ruthlessness in front of goal, something he is keen to see remedied in the final few games.

He said: "It was the same old story in that we didn't convert enough good chances.

"Even in the Guiseley game, where we played poorly, had we scored some of the clear cut opportunities we could still have won the match.

"Against Kendal we got the early goal but then got caught by a sucker-punch in the second-half."

The Eastwood boss is now keen for his side to eliminate any potential combination of a fear of losing and the pressure to win, a standard burden for teams at the top.

"The expectation is huge and it's a psychological test as well as one on the pitch, but if we hold our nerve for what will be six more cup finals, we'll be there."

Eastwood used Tuesday's Nottinghamshire Senior Cup tie at Rainworth to blend experience and youth, with key reserve players such as Craig Thomasen and Reiss Morley appearing alongside regular first-teamers.

Cox said the aim of the exercise was to experiment with a new formation and felt it was a useful game.

He said: "To be fair to Rainworth they made it very hard for us to break them down but we tried a few things out and several interesting things came out of it.

"It was one of those games where an early goal could have changed things and opened the floodgates but it was a good run out and gave us a chance to have a look at some of the fringe players."

Among those appearing was Peter Knox, who scored three goals in his recent loan spell at Frickley Athletic and who Cox feels could play a vital part in Eastwood's promotion push.

"It was important for Knoxy to get some games and we knew he'd be coming back at a vital time," said the Eastwood boss.

"He's no nonsense and offers us something a bit different, which could be extremely handy in the closing games."