Tunnicliffe in high spirits for AFC Fylde's top-seven fight

With just 10 games remaining in their debut season at non-league’s elite level, summer signing Tunnicliffe admits he wouldn’t swap places with any of the clubs below who are looking to knock Fylde off their play-off perch.

Tunnicliffe said: “We would rather have the points on the board than games in hand.

“There are still 10 games to go and I’m sure it will chop and change quite a bit yet, but hopefully we are one of the teams in the top seven come the end of the season.”

Despite falling behind against Dover after consecutive league defeats, Tunnicliffe insists Fylde never felt in trouble: “We always believe we can score goals and that proved the case,” he said.

“Even when we went a goal down, we knew the game would open up in the final 20 minutes.

“We stuck to the way we play, playing out from the back and down the channels, and we got what we thoroughly deserved in the end.

“I didn’t feel under much pressure and they didn’t create many chances but it was frustrating to concede.

“We have been working in training to cut out those sloppy goals and that type is exactly what we are trying to prevent. But it’s about how you come back from situations like that and I thought we did it brilliantly.

“The substitutions worked perfectly and the two young lads (James Hardy and Serhat Tasdemir) changed the game.

“The manager always tells us to keep calm and continue what we are doing. We have to believe in our ability when the game opens up. When it did, we got three goals and we are delighted.”

The Coasters face an arduous trip to Torquay on Saturday and Tunnicliffe is wary of the former Football League side, although they are second-bottom.

He added: “Every team has strengths in this league and they all present a different challenge. We have to show Torquay respect because they are battling for their lives.

“We have a full week to prepare for the long trip and we have to make sure we come away with a positive result.”