Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth has said he sympathises with clubs that had fate decided for them by the points-per-game basis.

Prior to lockdown, the Chairboys were in eighth place but capitulated to third and into the play-off places due to PPG formula.

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Ainsworth said: “I totally, totally sympathise.

“We've been on the wrong end of decisions sometimes during games that have cost us and I know, this is a bigger scale of that.

“So I can empathise with teams.

"Right from Tranmere, who obviously wanted to finish out the season.

“You probably see more twists and turns at the bottom sometimes than you do at the top.

“It's not fair.

"I'm not saying it's 100 per cent fair because it isn't.

"One per cent fair would have been finished in the season, 44 games because of the Bury situation, and finding out where everyone was after 44 games.”

“That's what's fair.

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"I actually think that, honestly, this is probably the next best thing they could have done.

“I can't think of them trying to predict the future of what was going to come.

"They could only go off what has happened up to now, and factored what happened to now.”

Ainsworth also complimented his players on how they conducted themselves during the lockdown and the uncertainty of the play-offs, where he believes if the season was played out, the Chairboys could have fought for automatic promotion.

He continued: “I was proud of the way all the players and everyone kept to themselves and kept quiet, quite humble in this situation, knowing that we were going to benefit it was points-per-game.

“I would love to play the season out.

"I really would love to play the season out.

“I think it would have done as good as well, but people seem to write us off.

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“We were in OK form going into the break and we had a bad patch over Christmas.

"Everyone seems to focus on that.

“We were winning one, losing one, winning one, losing one just before the break.

"I think we worked out if we carried that on that we would have finished in the play-offs.

“I would have loved to have a go at second place.

"It is a real tough decision for those people with so much going on in the world.”

Both play-off matches kick-off at 7.30pm.