Ling believes his side can do just that, if they improve in defence, but has redrawn his season target as claiming second place rather than the top spot.
He said: "Scunthorpe have a head start now with the points that they've accumulated this season, and there's no doubt they're going to be difficult to catch.
"I think most of the teams in this League are much of a muchness, but Scunthorpe's results show that they are well ahead of everyone else."