ALAN REEVES is anxious to become Andy King's permanent number two and will use the remainder of the campaign to prove himself worthy of the role.

Mick Harford's departure to Rotherham United has left the manager without an assistant and Town's longest serving player would love the chance to move up another notch on the coaching ladder.

Reeves currently juggles playing with reserve team duties but he does harbour ambitions to test himself at first team level.

He said: "I've got another month to try and prove myself to see if the gaffer will let me have it full time next year.

"The ball's in my court I suppose but I hoped to be here next year as a coach anyway. "I'd be more than willing to take the job and I'd give it my best shot.

"I don't know if I'll carry on playing next year, we'll have to see. You can't play for ever. I think I've got good qualities that could take me into coaching and management."

Reeves knows it takes time to reach the top in management and points to the outgoing assistant manager as an example.

He said: "Mick Harford's served his time. He's been a coach, was reserve team manager when I was at Wimbledon and had that experience at Luton.

"It's taken him 10 or 12 years of coaching to get this post and I've every faith he'll do a good job at Rotherham.

"In just six weeks here, he's changed a few things on the training pitch and given us a few new ideas, in terms of warm-ups, doing things a bit sharper and not dragging it out too long."

Reeves insists he is learning new things every day, and said: "Even just sitting in the coaching room you pick up so much.

"Players just turn up at 10.20, have a laugh with their mates, do their work and go home at 12.30.

"As a coach you have to prepare sessions, work them out the night before and then implement them."

If he was handed the role Reeves accepts it wouldn't necessarily be easy to switch from being 'Reevesy' to someone with greater power to tell players what to do.

He said: "It can work both ways. Sometimes it's difficult going from being a teammate to telling them what to do all the time and telling them when they're not playing well."

Reeves' immediate task is to help the players bounce back from last week's shattering defeat at Hartlepool.

He said: "It was a massive game, but we now need to win five of the six games we have left in order to try and sneak in there."