FREE-scoring Altrincham are aiming to be hailed as the Blue Square North’s Great Entertainers as they bring the curtain down on their campaign against Gainsborough Trinity at Moss Lane on Saturday (3pm).

Alty are just one behind Hyde’s 89-goal tally, after thrashing relegated Eastwood Town 6-1 last week, and are determined to overhaul the champions and finish the season as the league’s most prolific scorers.

"I’ll probably have a wry smile on my face if we do, because if you score 90 goals or more over the course of a season, you really should be in the promotion shake-up," said manager Lee Sinnott.

"We should be in the play-offs, at least, but, of course, we have conceded too many goals. That has cost us, but it is something that will be addressed and hopefully rectified before the start of next season.

"Eastwood may be down at the bottom, but you can only beat what is in front of you, and, whether you are home or away, 6-1 has to represent a good day’s work. It was our third 6-1 of the season, and once we began moving the ball around better, after starting slowly, we looked as impressive as in the other two, against Colwyn Bay and Boston United.

‘I’m just delighted with the way the players have responded to the disappointment of missing out on the play-offs. There has been no treating games as dead rubbers. Their application has been first-class."

Leighton McGivern completed his hat-trick in the last minute, while midfielder Scott Phelan scored twice and Damian Reeves claimed his 44th goal of the season from the penalty spot. At 5-0 up, however, an elusive first clean sheet of the season eluded Alty, as Eastwood pulled one back.

"That was the only disappointment, and you can’t help feeling it’s one of those seasons, as far as keeping goals out is concerned," added Sinnott. "We can’t buy a clean sheet, but we are already working behind the scenes to put that right. It is an ongoing issue that will be dealt with.

"As for Saturday, we are all determined to finish on a high and sign off in style. We will be doing everything we can to add more goals and more points to our tally."

Mark Lynch is unlikely to be fit, after contracting viral meningitis, while Kieran Walmsley is also struggling with a flu bug.