Nick Clegg is determined that the Liberal Democrats will not go gently into the night.

After plummeting in the opinion polls in the wake of the 2010 coalition deal with the Conservatives some forecasts suggest the party will lose half its seats in May.

But the message from Mr Clegg yesterday was that the Lib Dem's ambition should still be to play its part in government.

He took swipes at two of his major opponents for the role of kingmaker, the SNP former leader Alex Salmond and Ukip's leader NIgel Farage, accusing both of representing parties that peddle the politics of "grievance".

And he hit out at his two potential coalition partners, effectively accusing Labour of lacking brains on the economy and the Tories of lacking heart when it comes to the less well off.

The lesson was that there is little time for the niceties of pre-coalition negotiation schmoozing when you are in a fight for your political life.

But much of his rhetoric was aimed at those within his own party.

The Lib Dem leader attempted to put a fire under his party's activists as they prepare for the final few weeks of this most unusual of election campaigns.

He warned them specifically against two things, despondency and fancying a few years out of the punishing spotlight of government.

The Lib Dems strategy in this election is to concentrate resources to save as many as possible of the almost 60 seats it currently holds.

With Labour and the Tories neck-and-neck in the polls , and neither on course to achieve an overall majority, Mr Clegg emphasised that this was an election in which every seat could count.

Whichever party holds the balance of power at Westminster in May could come down to a just couple of hundred votes in each of just a handful of seats, he said.

And because of this theirs was a manifesto for government, he said.

From defence to health to education to the environment, it came in at a hefty 150 pages.

On some issues the wording is clearly designed to allow the party wriggle room during any coalition talks.

For instance the manifesto states that the UK should remain in the EU.

But senior party figures yesterday refused to say that the Tories planned In/ Out referendum on EU membership would be a dealbreaker for any coalition negotiations.

The Lib Dems insist the manifesto is more than just a playing it safe document, designed simply to avoid another U-turn fiasco like that over tuition fees.

Whether or not the voters will give them the chance to remain in government and see any of it implemented remains to be seen.