Saturday's 2-0 win at high-flying Hinckley saw Mellon's Blue Square North leaders pull seven points clear, but second-placed Southport could overhaul them by making the most of their three games in hand, starting this evening.

But the manager said: "We aren't really bothered about anybody else. We are going to concentrate on ourselves and getting as high a points total as possible.

We have nine games to go and will approach every one as though it's a cup final. We have to make sure we end the season without any regrets."

A hard week on the training ground was rewarded at Hinckley, where Town bounced back from the mini-crisis of their first back-to-back league defeats of the season.

Mellon said: "We knew it was a massive game, we knew we had to win and we knew we were under pressure, but we dealt with it properly and came out very comfortable winners.

The boys deserve all the credit. They worked hard on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

"We said before the game that we had to fight to take the lead.

We had to score first and the lads did that. Now we have to stay focused and carry on being as aggressive as we were at Hinckley at both ends of the pitch."

To complete a highly satisfactory weekend for Mellon, latest signing Lee Thorpe made a major impact on his Town debut, setting up both goals.

The recruitment of Darlington's 34-year-old striker, who began his career at Blackpool FC 16 years ago, certainly raised eyebrows but Mellon said: "I'm probably the only person who wasn't surprised by Lee's debut.

"I knew what he would do and what he would bring to the team. He did that in spadefuls and he'll get better with match practice.

"He hadn't played for a few weeks and he was tired towards the end, but he will always give you 100 per cent. He will always use his know-how and experience, and he will definitely make us a better team."