Chester FC defender Michael Kay wants to see the club end the campaign in the upper half of the Vanarama Conference but knows an improvement will be needed.

Chester’s next three games will see them face play-off contenders Woking and Forest Green Rovers either side of title challengers Bristol Rovers.

It is a demanding run and one which will go a long way to determining whether or not the Blues, who have been below par in the past couple of games, can finish 12th or better.

Kay said: “We don’t the season to fizzle out. There’s six games left and there’s still a lot of points to play for so we want to try and get that top half finish definitely.

“I think in the end we were happy obviously to have got something from the game at Alfreton but we know that we didn’t play to the standards that we’ve set for ourselves this season.

“In the first-half Alfreton were much the better side, they came out of the traps a lot quicker than us and seemed up for a bit more.

“I don’t know what it was with us but we needed the 45 minutes to get going but to be fair in the second-half I thought we were the better team and I think a draw was probably a fair result but we definitely need to improve.”

Kay moved to Chester in 2013 from Tranmere Rovers and signed a new 12-month deal last summer with the option for another 12 months, which the club are keen to activate.

Despite having to serve three suspensions, he has featured 35 times this season primarily in the middle of defence, although has been used at full-back and even in midfield.

In recent weeks, manager Steve Burr has settled on Kay and Ben Heneghan as his preferred choice in central defence.

“I think in general it has been a good partnership and we’ve both done quite well,” said the 25-year-old, who is a product of the Sunderland academy.

“Saturday maybe wasn’t one of our best performances I would say but in the past few months we’ve done quite well and hopefully we can go again this weekend.

Kay and Heneghan have complemented each other well of late, the latter having the height to deal with direct opponents and the former comfortable playing out from the back as the manager demands.

Consett-born Kay admits there’s one part of his game that requires improvement with his goal record for the Blues reading none in 67 appearances, compared to Heneghan’s seven goals from 39 games.

“He’s taking the limelight off me a few times this season and I think Saturday was his seventh goal so it shows what a threat he is in both boxes and I’m glad for him,” said Kay.

“He’s left me behind I think and it’s something I need to work on definitely. He’s a threat in both boxes so it’s good to have him and he’s dug us out of trouble again really at the weekend.”