ANDY MORRISON has written off the importance of tonight’s trip to champions The New Saints - insisting that Connah’s Quay Nomads’ focus is solely on the Welsh Cup final.

There is a dress rehearsal for the final between Nomads and Saints on Sunday, May 5 at Cefn Druids’ The Rock, (2.45pm) as Morrison takes his team to Park Hall.

Nomads have the chance to gain an advantage as they look to retain their trophy in nine days time, but Morrison has suggested that he could rotate his playing staff after a long, hard season.

“There are tired bodies and tired minds,” said Morrison. “We’ve cemented that second place, we are in the Scottish Challenge Cup, we are in the Welsh Cup final and we just need to dust ourselves off now over the next few days and gradually lead into the Welsh Cup final, which is the huge game left.

“We’ve got to deal with TNS now, but the big game is the Welsh Cup final, which is the one that we will be focusing on and the one, that when it comes around, we will be ready for.”

Danny Holmes, named Nomads’ players’ player of the year, and Michael Bakare, who picked up the manager’s player of the year and supporters’ player of the year awards, could be two players given a breather, along with experienced trio George Horan, Danny Harrison and Michael Wilde.

Whatever team Morrison picks, Saints boss Scott Ruscoe expects the visiting side to be highly-motivated.

“They are not going to turn up here and get a drubbing,” said Ruscoe. “They will be looking to lay a marker down for the Welsh Cup final, but we will be naming a strong team to make sure we win the game.”

Saints lifted the league trophy last weekend after beating Caernarfon 3-1, a result which extended their advantage over Nomads to nine points ahead of the final game of the season.

Ruscoe is delighted with the size of gap between his side and second-placed Nomads who, along with Barry Town United, threatened Saints’ dominance of the top-flight for large parts of the season.

“We are nine points clear now with a chance of making that 12 points with a win,” said Ruscoe. “Looking back that will be a healthy advantage considering there were large spells where we were in second or third place.”

Third-placed Barry Town United can influence the make-up of the play-offs as they bring the curtain down on a hugely successful season.

Barry boss Gavin Chesterfield, who has seen his side qualify for the Europa League, said: “We were trying to target the top six and we achieved that pretty early on and have gone on to finish third.

“I’m really proud of my lads.”

Newtown visit Jenner Park tonight knowing victory could see them snatch fourth from Caernarfon, who head to Bala, but defeat may see them slip to fifth.

Chris Hughes’ Robins are three points behind Caernarfon and two ahead of Bala with goal difference potentially playing a significant part in the final standings.

Hughes said: “I’m not sure whether it’s a must-win. We want to win every game we play.”

Bala could snatch fourth from Newtown, who would then have to go Maes Tegid in the play-off semi-finals, but they must beat visiting Caernarfon to stand any chance.

“We’ve got a chance where we could alter the play-off game, but there will be a few twists and turns,” said Bala manager Colin Caton.

Seventh placed Cardiff Met will be paying close attention to what’s going on in the matches involving their potential play-off opponents.

Met finish the regular season at home to relegated Llanelli, while Carmarthen host Aberystwyth.