COLNE boss Steve Cunningham has told the travelling Red Army his side will play 'fearless football' as they go head-to-head with free-scoring Farsley Celtic tonight in the Evo-Stik First Division North play-off semi-final.

The Reds booked their place in the end-of-season promotion shootout with a goalless draw at home to Droylsden on Saturday, but that saw drop to fifth in the league and if they are to secure a second promotion in as many seasons they will have to do it the hard way.

That starts tonight with a trip to Throstle Nest to take on a Celtic side who missed out on the league title on Saturday despite a 5-0 win, plundering their 100th league goal in 42 games in the process.

If Cunningham's men can spring a surprise they will be on the road again in the final on Saturday, with Scarborough Athletic hosting Ossett Town in the other semi-final.

The Reds' chief said securing a top five finish in their first season at this level had been a 'great day for the football club', but he's not settling for that now.

"I'm not one of these that will settle for what we've done in just getting to the play-offs, I've said that all along," Cunningham said.

"I always said we would get to the play-offs, nobody believed us but nobody believed us last year when we said we'd win the league.

"We're going there to try and win the match, we're not going there to stop them and close up shop and try and catch them in the last few minutes.

"We can go there and play fearless football, we can go and attack them and try and win the game. That's when we're at our best. We go to win matches, that is the only way we know."

The Villagers missed out on the title and automatic promotion by one point, with Lancaster City's win at the weekend securing them top spot.

And while Colne have lost 2-1 and 3-2 to Farsley Celtic this season, Cunningham has piled the pressure on the hosts tonight.

"There's no pressure on us whatsoever. We're going to Farsley as the underdog," he said.

"For them to have lost out on Saturday having won 5-0 they will be hurting a little bit. Hopefully we can catch them on a bit of a come down from not winning the league."

A home win on Saturday would have secured a semi-final at the Holt House Stadium, but it wasn't to be for Cunningham's side.

"It was very nervy, especially when you can hear results coming through constantly," he said. "We were always in control of it but with five minutes to go you start hearing you might be out if you lose and you're thinking 'where's that come from?'.

"If we'd won on Saturday we'd have got home advantage and that would have been a real benefit. No matter who you're playing in a play-off game they all deserve to be there and they all want to progress as much as we do.

"The only difference is the home advantage, for finance as well for the club. But at the start of the season if someone had said you'd finish fifth and have a chance of playing in the play-offs with a chance to reach the Evo-Stik Premier we'd have snapped their arms and legs off.

"We're proud to be sitting in the play-offs."