Faltering Oxford United may need as many as three wins from their last five games to reach the play-offs.

Northampton Town are piling on the pressure and their impressive run of ten wins in 13 Division 3 games has put them within touching distance of the U's.

The eighth-placed Cobblers are now just three points behind with a game in hand after their 3-2 victory at second-placed Hull on Satur- day.

At the rate the Cobblers are going, it may take as many as 74 points to guarantee a play-off place, far more than it did last season.

And to reach that mark, Graham Rix's men would need either three wins or two wins and a draw.

An automatic promotion place is looking beyond them after their sorry slide over the last few weeks.

And they have been very fortunate that many of their play-off rivals keep slipping up as well.

Torquay, their opponents at Plainmoor today, went down 2-1 at Bury on Good Friday, while Mansfield - comfortable winners over Oxford last Tuesday - lost 1-0 at Darlington.

Huddersfield's 1-0 win over Southend at the weekend means the top three are sitting pretty, four points clear of the chasing pack, most of whom have played a game more.

Caretaker boss Rix has not analysed how many wins United may need.

After the 0-0 home draw with Boston, he said: "There's five games left, we're going to try and win all five.

"That's what we've got to do, that's the attitude we've got to have."

The team travelled down to South Devon last night with Rix sticking to his principles of continuing with a flat back four and wingers, despite coming under increasing criticism from fans, who booed the team off at the end of Friday's match with Boston.

Some of them are questioning whether he really is getting the best out of the players available. Senior pros Julian Alsop and Paul Wanless were left out completely against the Pilgrims.

It is a massive 'six-pointer' at Torquay, where United won 3-2 so excitingly last spring, with Lee Steele grabbing a late winner.

The Gulls' danger man is skilful striker David Graham, and it will be a major test of centre backs Jon Ashton and Andy Crosby to keep him out.

Oxford Utd: (from) Woodman, McNiven, Ashton, Crosby, Brown, Hackett, Whitehead, Walker, Hunt, Pitt, Basham, Rawle, Waterman, Steele, Bound, Wanless, Alsop, Robinson.