SWINDON Supermarine boss Lee Spalding believes having a strength in depth squad at his disposal can launch his side back into the play-off picture.

Marine won only one of their opening eight fixtures of the year, dropping Spalding’s men out of the play-off frame.

But a confidence-boosting 5-1 win against Shortwood United on Saturday puts Marine a point behind sixth-placed Wimborne Town.

Weather permitting, Marine will face AFC Totton in a playoff push ‘six-pointer’ away on Saturday.

However, Spalding is likely to be without both Josh Parsons and Ryan Morgan while Ash Taylor remains side-lined.

Despite this, having a 25-man squad is providing the Marine boss with a ‘good but bad’ problem.

“All of our players are good enough to play,” said Spalding.

“It’s tricky for me to pick a 16 man squad every week. We’re having to leave players out that are good.

“Players know if they’re performing and results come our way they’ll be wearing the shirt.”

Totton currently sit one place – and one point – behind Marine in the Evo-Stik South West Division, meaning a win for the visitors could potentially them jump up into a playoff spot. And Spalding knows not to underestimate the ability of Steve Riley’s men.

He said: “I’m really pleased with the performance on Saturday.

“There were plenty of positives to take from the game. I thought we attacked well and there were lots of positives in wide areas.

“Totton are a good side.

“I’ve watched them and they’ve scored plenty of goals. They’ll be a threat.

“When I look at my team I can tell they’re focussed.

“I believe we can reach the playoffs and they know what our goal is.”

Spalding joined Marine in the middle of January and has been pleased with the reaction received from his men so far.

Only an away loss at Taunton has denied Spalding an unbeaten record. But he admits the dressing room atmosphere has been strong since taking on the first-team role.

He added: “The players have responded positively.

“To be fair the spirit among the team was good when I took over.

“I’ve tried to make us more defensively sound and more compact as a team.

“We’ve got a lot of home fixtures coming up, that’s something we can be positive about.

“Our home record this year has been very good barring the one 5-0 loss. We’re looking to continue that.

“It could prove to be the difference between reaching the playoffs and missing out come the end of the season.

“Away from home our form isn’t a concern. Last season was different, we weren’t great at home but played well away.”