IT WAS certainly a busy few days last weekend but it was a productive one for Guiseley according to manager Mark Bower.

The Lions hosted Leeds United on Friday night and then made the short trip to Horsfall Stadium to face Bradford Park Avenue on Saturday. The scorers were kept busy as well with seven goals being scored on Friday and five the day after as the Lions netted six but also shipped in half a dozen.

Bower was unperturbed by the amount the conceded and took positives from a narrow 4-3 defeat to Leeds and a slender 3-2 victory over Bradford.

“It was always going to be difficult organising the side when we were making so many changes to get everybody involved over the two days,” he said.

“I thought we had good spells against Leeds and it was a good game for the players to be involved in and for the supporters. It was pleasing to win against a very good Park Avenue side.”

The back-to-back games gave the manager the opportunity to draft a few players in who had been carrying niggling injuries. Bower was also able to give valuable game time to some of the club’s promising academy players.

He said: “Michael Rankine is on the way back from injury and he got a lot of minutes under his belt which will bring him back somewhere near the fitness of the rest. There were two or three more who have missed a lot of football and training in the pre-season.

“Will Wells was one of them and it was good to see him proving that he’s on the way back and it was nice for him to get the goal in that second half against Park Avenue.

“Michael played the full 90 and he did well. He needed minutes so that’s why we left him on for the full game. He played at centre half in the second half because he told me he was as good as Sol Campbell back there!

“To be fair he didn’t put a foot wrong.

“Injuries are part and parcel of pre-season and you’ll always get a few picking up strains and pulls, but at the moment we’re not too badly off. Danny Lowe is the only long term – he’s out with a stress facture and will be another four to six weeks.”