PHIL Edwards may have been close to scoring one of Accrington Stanley's goal's of the season but his main aim is clean sheets.
The defender has returned to the starting line up for the last seven games after being in and out of the relegation-threatened side throughout the League Two campaign.
And the former Wigan man has won praise for his defensive displays - although he almost grabbed the glory at the other end in the 2-2 draw with Lincoln on Saturday.
The 21-year-old unleashed a 30-yard thunderbolt which the keeper did well to tip away.
"As soon as I hit it, I thought it was in," said Edwards. "I was turning round to celebrate when the keeper touched it. I was gutted. I was ready to tell Welchy mine was a better goal that his against Stockport!
"But I have got one goal for the season and I don't want to push the boat out and get two!
"And I am not too worried about goals - I would rather keep clean sheets than score. That would mean a lot more.
"I have been pleased with my last few performances but I would gladly trade them in if it meant we had picked up more points - results just haven't gone our way."
The Reds have only kept two league clean sheets all season and the point against Lincoln was their first out of a possible nine.
But keeping local rivals Rochdale out in tomorrow's (Sat) derby clash - one the fans have been looking forward to since the start of the season - would be a big boost in their survival battle.
Dale have pulled away from the drop zone having a five point gap over the 21st place Reds.
"It is a massive game for us," said right back Edwards, who could face former Reds' favourite left winger Rory Prendergast who signed for the Spotland outfit from Blackpool in January. "We need to win and try and drag them back towards us. It is massive."
Edwards looks likely to get the nod again as the battle begins for centre half Robbie Williams' spot as he is suspended for one game after picking up five bookings.
Captain Peter Cavanagh is itching for his first league start since November, Leam Richardson and Mauro Almeida are waiting to regain their places and Danny Ventre is on the road to recovery.
"I hope I have done enough to keep my place until the end of the season," said Edwards. "It was frustrating when I wasn't playing at the start but hopefully I have done enough to stay in and I can help us get away from the bottom of the table. We are looking over our shoulder but we do just need to look after ourselves."
And Edwards revealed that the Reds feel they owe Bristol Rovers one on Tuesday at home after the Pirates inflicted a heavy 4-0 defeat on them at the Memorial Ground.
"That was our worst performance away from home so hopefully we can get a bit of revenge on Tuesday," added the defender.
Boss John Coleman, meanwhile, daren't look ahead to Rovers as he is fully focused on Rochdale.
"It is another big game for us - the next 12 will be," said the Reds chief. "I know a few of their side and they have had a couple of wins and their confidence will be high.
"They have had an up and down season like us but are on an upward curve at the moment and it is going to be difficult.
"But we have a strong squad now and I have cover for Robbie.
"There are some big challenges ahead and I just can't wait to play games now. We haven't done that badly away from home in the last few games so we need to kick on and get those couple of wins to move clear."
He added: "Historically we do well with night matches at home so hopefully we can repeat that on Tuesday against Bristol."
