Farsley Celtic boss Adam Lakeland looking for a response after 'nightmare' midweek loss

Currently sitting in third place in Conference North, the Celts may have been beaten in Tuesday’s 2-0 loss in their rearranged meeting with Kidderminster Harriers, but they are very much unbowed ahead of their return to action at home to Brackley tomorrow.

Farsley are hopeful that Ben Atkinson will be back in the fray, alongside experienced defender Danny Ellis.

Celts chief Lakeland said: “We have to put things in to perspective. We are about a third of the way through the season and we sit in third place. If anyone had offered us this at the start of the season, we would have snapped their hands off.

“We play Brackley on Saturday and they are a very good team – always up there in the division, and we know it will be a tough game.

“We hope Ben will be back in contention for the weekend. Dave (Syers) came off (on Tuesday) and was pretty disappointed when we made the change, but he played his first 90 minutes of the season at Alfreton at the weekend in a game that he was fantastic.

“Danny (Ellis) came off as he was feeling his calf a bit. In all honesty he stayed on a bit longer than I thought he would, and again I hope he will be fit for Brackley.

“We withdrew Tyler (Walton) on Tuesday as he had picked up a booking for a similar challenge that one of their players had committed on him minutes earlier.”

Seventh-placed opponents Brackley are four points behind Farsley, in third, with a game in hand.

Meanwhile, depleted Guiseley have been given a timely boost with the return to the fray of 14-goal hot-shot Aaron Martin ahead of tomorrow’s home encounter with 15th-placed Darlington at Nethermoor.

The prolific ex-Brighouse Town striker has served his ban following his recent dismissal at Gloucester and returns to a Lions side who have dropped down to eighth in the table aftter a run of one win in their last six league outings.

Joint-manager Marcus Bignot, whose side lost 4-1 at AFC Telford last time out, said: “Aaron being back is really important for us. Take his amount of goals out of a team and anybody would miss that.

“Take away his goals and the way he applies himself and how he goes about working hard, his mentality, physicality and tactical awareness, he is a player that the younger ones can learn off.

“We are going to be a young team, we have just got to find our way.

“It was a disappointed dressing room after the Telford game. It is important we do learn from that experience. It is a very young group and they need to take on the experience and put it right in the next week.

“If you do not do the things that are required, you do not win football matches. They have got to compete. You have got to have the desire and mentality.

“We have got to turn these results around. For us, it’s an important week. We have got to work hard.

“Things have been put in place for the players to take on board.

“We are down to the bare bones, but it’s an opportunity for players.

“The supporters understand the situation we are in. We have always had a young group. We started on a high, had a blip and all of the injuries and suspensions have come at once.”

Second-from-bottom Bradford Park Avenue host sixth-placed Southport.