Guiseley grinding towards second spot (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Guiseley grinding towards second spot

7:00pm Thursday 21st March 2013 in Sport By Ian Whiting

Guiseley’s only concern at the moment is that they are not winning well.

The Lions – who travel to Stalybridge Celtic on saturday – have steadied themselves in second place in the Blue Square Bet North and remain on course for a second runners-up spot on the bounce.

Three straight wins have seen Steve Kittrick’s men put a blip, when they picked up just five points from a possible 15, behind them.

However, the manager is not entirely happy. He said: “We’re not playing with the flow and consistency that we were earlier in the season. But that’s expected because at the back end of a long campaign all the teams are trying to grind out points for one reason or another.

“It’s difficult to turn on the style so you have to adapt and try a different approach and I think the players have taken that on board.”

Stalybridge were one of their main promotion rivals last term but this season has been a disappointing one and they are currently 16th with eight games left.

The Lions have ten to play but striker James Walshaw and defender Aaron Hardy will miss the next two. Walshaw has two games of a three-match ban to serve, while Hardy begins a two-game suspension.

They should both have served one match in midweek against Altrincham but that was postponed due to bad weather.

That match has been rearranged for Tuesday, March 26 as available dates are dwindling heading into an already-busy schedule over Easter.

Guiseley could still hit the ton as they have 75 points already on the board and another 30 still to play for.

Kittrick said last week: “Hitting 100 points and not getting automatic promotion would be unheard of in football.”