GARETH Ainsworth doesn't pay too much attention to league tables - not before Christmas.
Cast a glance at the current League 2 standings, and for the Wycombe boss it reads a bit like a Halloween stat horror - 21st from 24 with 16pts from 15 starts, and just a point above Leyton Orient who occupy the second of two relegation spots.
But such is the compact and crazy nature of the league, just six points separate the Chairboys from sixth-placed Notts County. 
"We are at the wrong end of the table and need to get away from there," admitted Ainsworth, who is refusing to press the panic button a third of the way into the season. 
"We've got plenty of games to go. We have been here before and Yeovil have shown if you put two or three wins together you can shoot up this table to the dizzy heights of the play-offs. It is a crazy league. 
"To be honest, I don’t look at the league table until Christmas time, when we start striving towards where we want to be. 
"I know we are at the wrong end of the table and if we have to battle around there for a little bit, then so be it. We are well capable of that."
And battle they did at Doncaster last Saturday, picking up a plucky point against the League big-spenders. 
But here's the rub for Ainsworth. Unlike his Rovers' counterpart Darren Ferguson who can wave a chequebook and plug the gaps in his squad, the Wycombe boss has to work with the raw talent he has got, rubbing shoulders with a few experienced pros.
Does he give youth its head to nurture the young pros, or does he go all out for points at any cost?
"You've got to remember that we have got some young players in our team. 
"Will De Havilland was making his second ever start at Doncaster, Dominic Gape is in his first season at this level, Luke O’Nien was playing his first game for three months, and then there's Jamal Blackman, Danny Rowe, the list goes on. These boys are in the first years of their career and it is tough that they have to learn on their feet. But that is what they have to do. 
"We can’t bring in experienced players in like James Coppinger at Doncaster. It is where we are. But my job as manager is to coach these young lads so that one day we will be able to pick the best crop. 
"But I am happy with my crop and the heart they show. You can’t buy desire, heart and togetherness, and that it what we have at Wycombe and what we have to thrive off."
Wycombe are into the third year of a five year plan. One of the smallest teams in League 2, they have overachieved in the first two years and, as a result, expectation levels have risen. 
So push the Wycombe manager on what a good season would be in year three, and Ainsworth modestly suggests top half of the tables.
"Yes, the last two seasons we over-achieved and raised expectation levels really high," he explained. "But there is no reason why we can’t do that again. It’s only six points to the play-off zone. 
"We are well capable of top half and once you are top half you are talking play-offs. 
"I don’t want to set too many targets My ambition is to get the boys enthused to play and really performing. That's why there is no reason why we can’t achieve what we have done the past two seasons."