Harborough can target a top-five finish, says boss Mitch

But the Bees boss insists there is no “added pressure” on anyone to deliver a top-five finish in their debut campaign at Step 4.

Harborough return to league action this weekend with a trip to Cambridge City having exited the Isuzu FA Trophy in heartbreaking fashion last Saturday.

The Bees held Step 3 outfit Basford United to a 1-1 draw in their third qualifying round clash before losing out 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out.

But the full focus is now back on the league with Harborough sitting in eighth place, just four points off the top five after eight games.

And Austin sees no reason why his players shouldn’t target an extended campaign.

“If we are being honest, I think there is a group of us that would like to look towards the play-offs,” the Bees boss said.

“We are finding things out about ourselves each week and we are working towards making ourselves as consistent as possible.

“The aim is to try to nick that last space in the play-offs.

“If we don’t do it, it won’t be the end of the world and next season we will be looking to see what we need to do to really push for those play-offs.

“Win, lose or draw, we know we have a fantastic club behind us and we are really happy to be where we are.

“There’s no added pressure on anyone at all. We are enjoying what we are doing and that’s a great place to be from a manager’s point of view.”