MANAGER Alan Knill believes his rejuvenated Scunthorpe United squad have given themselves more than just a glimmer of hope of escaping the drop.

He admits he will be desperately disappointed if the Iron do now lose their Championship status after finding a new lease of life under his tenure.

Consistency is the key he is looking for in the final four games of the season – starting at Coventry City this afternoon.

It's the first of two crunch fixtures for United, with Millwall to follow at Glanford Park on Monday, on an Easter weekend which will be pivotal to their hopes.

But Knill insists his focus is entirely on the Ricoh Arena where Scunthorpe expect to be backed by up to 1,000 fans.

"We are in quite good form now and hopefully we will be in even better form after today," said Knill.

"We have some momentum and have given ourselves more than a glimmer of hope of staying up.

"The two teams above us (Crystal Palace and Doncaster Rovers) play each other this afternoon.

"Only one of them can get the three points.

"We will get a clearer picture of how things look after today's games.

"And if we can get three points at Coventry, it will look a lot better."

Knill admits United must focus on what they do themselves in the Midlands.

"If we don't look after ourselves, then (our rivals) stay up and we don't," he confessed.

"We can't afford any slip-ups at this stage of the season because we are already playing catch-up.

"We have got to be at our best in every game.

"Three wins out of four will probably be enough to keep us up – that is a big ask."

But after winning two of their last three games, it's a target Knill believes United can achieve.

"When I first came here, with eight games still remaining, it did look a big ask to stay up," he continued.

"But I will be really disappointed if we go down now.

"And more than anything I will be really disappointed if the performances are poor.

"We have shown in the last three games that we can perform at this level.

"All we have to do is be consistent for the last four games and at least that gives you a chance.

"There can be no excuse if all of a sudden we can't produce that consistency.

"I have enjoyed being in the dugout watching us play well against good teams, and for us to have a team worthy of playing in front of 16-17,000 crowds."