JAMES MCPAKE insists Athletic’s mindset won’t change this afternoon despite having the chance to win League One.

The Pars boss acknowledges that there will “be a lot of noise” ahead of Queen of the South’s visit, where a victory will guarantee the title.

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Tuesday evening’s win at Peterhead wasn’t enough to seal the deal, thanks to second-placed Falkirk winning at Montrose, meaning the gap between the teams remains 11 points.

If McPake’s team don’t win, a failure by the Bairns to beat Airdrieonians would also see them crowned champions, but he wants his players to focus on producing a performance to secure three points, rather than becoming fixated on potentially clinching trophy glory.

“There’ll be a lot of noise around the game. There’ll be a lot of fans in, it’ll be a really good atmosphere, so it’s a game we’ll look forward to but, in the end, it’s another home game,” he told Press Sport.

“It’s another chance to add to that record and, obviously, it’s now our first real chance to win the league.

“We’re not going to change now. We’re 32 league games in.

“Come three o’clock, we need to forget all the noise, all the outside stuff that surrounds the game, and just go and take care of the 95, 96 minutes, however long it may be, and get a positive result.

“I think it all just comes down to the fact that the only thing we can control is our performance in the game.

“Obviously, we can control the team we pick, and all the stuff around that, but, in terms of what happens elsewhere, there’s no point even looking now.

“We know we just need to go out, we need to perform, and if we do that, and if we’re at it, then we’ve certainly got the players.

“We’re 20 games unbeaten, played 32, with one defeat, so we know we’ve got the players to go and do it.”

He added: “The players have got plenty of belief, plenty of energy. You’ve seen with the squad that we can change it. In the Peterhead game, we could make changes, we could bring people off, so we’re fresh. There won’t be any excuses that we’ve had a long trip midweek.

“We want to play games, we want to play football, and we just want to perform well. If we do that, we believe we’ll get a positive result, and one more positive result, we all know what happens.

“We just need to take care of the game.”

Meanwhile, the club have announced that more than 5,500 tickets have been sold for today's game.

The North West Stand is sold out, with tickets now available in the North East, whilst briefs are selling fast for the Norrie McCathie and Main stands.

They can be bought from the ticket office and club shop from 10am; from the ticket kiosk, at the corner of the Norrie McCathie and Main stands; and online, by clicking here.