The Blues centre half plans to play a key role in his team's bid to prise maximum points from promotion-chasing Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.

He said: "Wycombe are having a great run at the moment and they are really flying after their win at Grimsby on Tuesday night.

"I think they are a sleeping giant because they have a big stadium, a good fanbase, and they are experiencing really good form.

"It will be a hard game for us because Wycombe's defensive record proves they are organised and that they fight for every ball.

"They also have good players like Scott McGleish and Delroy Facey in attack – and I know how good Delroy is after our time together at Tranmere Rovers."

Linwood was making reference to Wycombe's best home defensive record in League Two – conceding just 14 goals and losing just four of their 21 home matches.

But the Blues' defender admitted he didn't believe Chester would be relegated and added: "No one at Chester thinks we'll go down, but no one is cocky about that, and nobody is going around saying we're too good to go down.

"We just have to keep our heads down, work hard, and do all we can to get out of trouble.

"Last Saturday's 2-1 home defeat against Lincoln City was really disappointing because I think we deserved more from the match.

"We took loads out of the game due to our performance, but now we have to get on with things and be ready for Saturday's match at Wycombe.

"We were all gutted about getting beat by Lincoln after we had created so many scoring chances in the second half, but we can't let that get us down.

"We can't blame anyone for Saturday's defeat. It was frustrating and I was as guilty as five or six other players when it came to missing chances."

Linwood is likely to partner Kevin Roberts in the centre of City's defence at Wycombe following the news earlier this week that centre half and skipper, Paul Butler, has been suspended by the club.

Linwood admitted he had never experienced a season like the current campaign during his career.

He added: "I've never been involved in a season like this with anyone.

"We have been involved in a real slump and at this stage of the season you begin to reflect and wonder where it all went wrong.

"We've conceded sloppy goals and lost games we shouldn't have. We can't afford to let our heads go down because we're still fighting for survival and we need to transform this bad run into much-needed points and mathematical safety."