Bradford Park Avenue will bid to make amends for a dismal display last time out as they visit struggling basement outfit Workington on Saturday.

Avenue are 12th in the Skrill Conference North and are 15 points clear of the drop zone.

They are unlikely to be dragged back down among the strugglers but need a victory to lift morale after two disappointing defeats.

They lost 4-1 at Lee Sinnott’s Altrincham before being humbled 5-0 at home by Brackley Town last weekend.

The latter display left Avenue boss John Deacey bitterly disappointed and, though he was missing five key players, he refused to use that as an excuse.

Nicky Boshell had been struggling with ongoing injury worries but the forward was given a rare start before being brought off after just 30 minutes.

When asked if it was a gamble on Boshell’s fitness that hadn’t paid off, Deacey said bluntly: “No. I will not accept lack of effort and that’s what we got from him and that’s why he was taken off.”

Prior to those back-to-back defeats Avenue had been on an unbeaten run and claimed four clean sheets on the trot.

Deacey will have to keep faith with the second string makeshift team once again with key players missing.

Promising young centre back Ryan Qualter joins the list of suspended players as he serves a one-match ban for an accumulation of yellow cards.

Skipper Nathan Hotte and defensive cornerstone James Knowles are sitting out the second of two-game suspensions, also because of the number bookings they have picked up.

Midfielder Richard Marshall, who suffered an injury just half an hour into the game at Altrincham, is unlikely to return tomorrow.

The versatile Adam Clayton’s hernia surgery is scheduled for the summer and mercurial striker Alex Davidson is battling to regain fitness in time to return for any of Avenue’s remaining five games.

Workington are currently stranded eight points adrift at the bottom of the table and desperately need a win tomorrow to reignite their faint hopes of mounting a survival bid.