AFC Fylde midfielder Lewis Montrose insists his side must take maximum points from their Easter weekend double-header.

The Coasters have surpassed expectations during their debut National League season, challenging at the top end of the table for a play-off spot, however Saturday’s defeat at Dagenham & Redbridge leaves Dave Challinor’s troops five points adrift of the promotion places.

Next up, Fylde host FC Halifax Town on Good Friday before travelling to Barrow on Easter Monday.

With six points on offer, Montrose is eager to get two victories on the board with ‘games running out’ in their quest for Football League status.

Montrose said: “Sometimes you can take positives from a defeat but their weren’t many on Saturday.

“Dagenham is a tough place to go and they are a very good team, particularly on the day. 

“Ultimately, we wanted to win the game – we needed to win the game – and we didn’t.

“Perhaps we could have been more solid and tried to grind out a point as a worst case scenario but we can do little about it now.

“We have to move onto the next one now and make sure that we take maximum points on Friday against Halifax. 

“This weekend gives us a great chance to get back on track and they are both most definitely ‘must win’ games. The games are running out and we need to get as many points as possible to ensure that we finish in those play-off places.”

Montrose has been a mainstay in the Coasters side since his summer switch from Stockport County, but is reserving judgement on what constitutes success until May.

Montrose added: “We have had a good season but personally I will judge how well we have done on whether we are in the play-offs or not.”