Gareth Ainsworth: Wycombe boss says team ready to 'crash' the play-offs party again

Image source, Rex Features

Image caption, Gareth Ainsworth has been in charge at Wycombe since November 2012

Wycombe are ready for an "almighty bun fight" in the battle for League One play-off places, according to manager Gareth Ainsworth.

The Chairboys reached last season's final after finishing sixth, only to lose 2-0 to Sunderland at Wembley.

They moved up to seventh, two points behind sixth-placed Barnsley, after Tuesday's 2-0 win over Oxford United.

"I'm really pleased where we are, right in the mix," Ainsworth told 大象传媒 Three Counties Radio.

"We're against some huge, huge sides, Portsmouth have won again, Bolton, Barnsley are up there, there's going to be an almighty bun fight for two spaces, I believe.

"We're clicking at the moment, we've got a really good squad with some youngsters coming through. We know we're a small club and we want to crash this party once more."

Wales international Sam Vokes scored for the first time since October - only his fourth of the season after contributing 17 to last season's play-offs push.

"Vokesy should be touching double figures this season," said Ainsworth.

"He's had two or three disallowed which I can't understand why for the life of me, but I firmly believe he will have a purple patch and get to double figures very soon."

Wycombe have yet to strengthen their squad in the January transfer window and Ainsworth is unwilling to upset the club's finances to pursue players they cannot afford.

"Never, ever will I put this club in jeopardy - [owner] Rob [Couhig] wouldn't let me anyway. I could be the manager who says 'just go that extra 拢1,000 a week' but I know where this club was," he said.

"I've scrimped and scraped and done extra jobs because we had nothing and I don't want to ever put this club back there.

"It's got to be the right person at the right price [if we sign anyone] and there could be one or two more boys going out. There are players on the fringes who need some games, we have a bigger squad than we've ever had before."

Ainsworth dedicated the win over Oxford to the late Bill Turnbull, the former 大象传媒 presenter and Wycombe fan, whose 67th birthday would have been on Wednesday.