Beadle ready to lead the revival

Seven straight league defeats have left the side too close for comfort to the drop zone and three points at Whitby tomorrow would be a massive relief.

And helping to lead the fight to pull away from the lower reaches of the table is a 17-year-old, who has scored twice in the last two games.

Jimmy Beadle, on loan from Scarborough, wants to stay at Horsfall until the end of the season. The centre half-turned midfielder said: "I like to score - and it always seems to be with my head like my last two. I need to play really well here so I can force my way into the Scarborough first-team set-up.

"I have played four times for Scarborough in the Conference League and have been captaining the reserves. But I am enjoying it here. I spoke to the Scarborough manager and he said I would probably not be playing for him again this season so hopefully I will be here until the end of the season.

"I don't think there is a chance Avenue will be relegated. Two or three wins and we will be back up the table.

"But there has been an air of gloom over the club. When you have been on a losing run like this, it is understandable. But start winning again and the mood quickly changes. It will get easier for me once I know the players better."

Manager Gary Brook is happy with his on-loan capture. "Jimmy was the pick of the bunch at Burscough. He is a young lad but he plays like he has been playing in the UniBond for the last five or six years. I brought him here because he is similar to Damien Dunne - he will put his foot in, he is not scared."

Brook has a number of attacking options. Last Saturday he brought Swedish striker Achilles Traore off the bench in the second half for his debut - and the 26-year-old scored the equaliser.

Avenue (from): Thompson, Haworth, Jones, Jarvis, Newton, Calcutt, Beadle, Walsh, Oleksewycz, Greaves, Flynn, Traore, Rowe, O'Brien.