Bristol Rovers are involved in a battle royal to get out of League Two with an automatic promotion finish not out of the realms of possibility whilst a play-off spot is close.
The Gas have not lost a game at home since the turn of the New Year and that has brought some optimism around the Memorial Stadium with sold out crowds and a positive atmosphere around the West Country.
With five home games left against Colchester United, Bradford City, Salford City, Forest Green Rovers and Scunthorpe United, Rovers will need to be at their top of their game and claim as close to maximum points as possible. If they can do that then they’ll stand themselves a good chance of getting promotion at the first time of asking after their relegation last year.
For any manager, the key to success is building up good home form and then being hard to beat on the road, with the hosts always expected to perform better given it is their natural environment.
Some teams in the fourth level of English football though have struggled in front of their home fans this year whilst performing well on the road, whilst other teams have just been steady and recorded what is needed to preserve their status in the division.
Despite playing in front of some of the bigger crowds, home sides can sometimes not perform in front of their own fan base, despite ranking highly for attendances. You can take a look at where Bristol Rovers, Bradford City and Northampton fans rank amongst League Two’s home crowds and see how they compare with how the teams have actually performed in games.
Take a look at how the League Two table would look if only home results had counted this season.
9. 16th: Carlisle United
Given the long journeys their team makes, you’d expect Carlisle to be better at home, but they’re just below mid-table. Paul Simpson has guided them to two wins recently though. They have 22 points from 18 games this season. | Getty Images Photo: Pete Norton/Getty Images
10. 15th: Leyton Orient
At Brisbane Road, fans haven’t seen a win in their last five matches with the O’s losing their last four and drawing their most recent match. Orient, who recently appointed Richie Wellens as the successor to Kenny Jackett, have picked up 23 points from 18 matches at home. | Getty Images Photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images
11. 14th: Stevenage
Paul Tisdale’s Stevenage have lost their last three home matches, so that has affected their placing slightly. They’ve got 24 points from playing 18 games in front of their own support this season. | Getty Images Photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images
12. 13th: Salford City
The Peninsula Stadium is a ground that has a lot of expectation given the wealthy backing of the Class of 92, but so far their promotion push hasn’t looked strong enough. Their home form places them just below mid-table with 25 points from 16 games, though they are joint with the next-placed side with two games fewer played. | Getty Images Photo: Pete Norton/Getty Images