If you could nominate any management team to take you through a promotion play-off push, then Danny and Nicky Cowley would surely be high up on your list.

So it’s good for Braintree Town that they have the inspirational siblings to prepare them and lead them this week as the Iron look to keep making history and book a place at Wembley on May 15.

Since Danny took over as manager just over a year ago, with his brother Nicky as his assistant, it has been an incredible journey for Braintree, their players and their fans.

A 3-0 win against Altrincham last weekend ensured that would continue a while longer as they secured third place in the Vanarama National League and set up a two-legged play-off semi-final against Grimsby Town.

The first of those two legs is due to take place tonight at Blundell Park, with the second on Sunday back at the Avanti Stadium (kick-off 3pm).

Braintree know what it takes to earn promotion, having twice moved up in the last decade with elevations from the Ryman League and then the Conference South to their current berth in the top-flight of non-league football.

Both moves up were achieved automatically, but play-off success has proved a bit harder to come by with promotion being elusive via that route in both the 2006/7 and 2007/8 campaigns.

So that’s why having the Cowley brothers at the helm may be the difference.

Their methodical and meticulous approach to preparing their team is ideally suited to a format that can be a lottery and their track record includes notable successes with their previous club, Concord Rangers.

They masterminded play-off victories that lifted the Canvey Island side from Ryman League division one north in 2009/10 and then the Ryman League premier division in 2012/13.

And they will be hoping to use their winning formula once again, albeit on an even bigger stage.

“It’s the first time that we’ve been involved in a two-legged affair so that will be interesting and a challenge,” said Danny.

“But we have been in a lot of play-offs with Concord and we’ve been successful in a lot of play-offs.

“It would be telling to reveal what the secret of that is but we have a clear game plan for play-offs.

“They are unique one-off occasions.

“They are pressure games, but we will have a game plan.

“The more you expose yourself to these experiences the better you get.

“The week that we had last week (ahead of the Altrincham game), we’d lived that week before.

“We’d done it on numerous occasions and we’ve lived this week that we’re having now on numerous occasions when there is a pivotal life-changing game at the end of it.

“That’s what it is – life-changing.

“We have lived them before so we know how to deal with it.

“We’re pretty good and no-one can put more pressure on us than we put on ourselves.

“We are looking forward to it and we won’t fear something that we’ve created.”