IT IS as you were as Bradford Park Avenue look to host Tamworth in  Vanarama National League North a week after the scheduled date.

Last weekend’s sudden freeze led to all but two of the games in the division being postponed, and Avenue’s Horsfall Stadium didn’t escape.

The pitch was under a covering of snow and the ground underneath was frostbound.

Sixth-placed Avenue still go into the game on the back of four consecutive league victories and with a four-point advantage over the mid-table Lambs.

Boss Mark Bower had warned that it would be another difficult game and that Andy Morrell’s men would be looking to avenge their defeat in the reverse fixture.

Avenue won 1-0 at Tamworth’s Lamb Ground on the opening day of season, when an Adam Boyes strike seven minutes into stoppage time snaffled all three points.

Bower said: “Everything that was said in the build-up still stands, and all of our players have been available for this week and have trained well so we still have the same options for the squad.

“It’s been a bit more difficult than usual because we had to scout around for some indoor training facilities. Our regular venue at Grange (Technology College) was off limits because it was under the snow but we managed to get something sorted out.

“The players we have here are all motivated and experienced and we know we can trust them to keep themselves in shape. It would have been too long, having last weekend off and then not training in the week, so we had a good session on Tuesday and will do a bit today, but even if we hadn’t the lads all have the right character and they would have kept themselves up to speed.”

Tamworth may be even keener for the win after last Saturday’s inactivity cost them one place in the table.

They were tenth, sandwiched between York City and Stockport County, but Stockport’s 3-2 home win over Spennymoor Town saw the Hatters leapfrog the Lambs and the Minstermen.

Bower is happy that that his side had the contingency plan to re-schedule the Tamworth game for this weekend.

It is an FA Trophy weekend, and with Avenue and the Lambs already out of that competition it made sense to leave Saturday free, especially with last weekend’s forecast.

Bower said: “I think our club sec Colin (Barker) played a blinder really. He got in touch with Tamworth a couple of days before last Saturday’s game and they talked about the likelihood of the game being on.

“The sub-zero temperature was expected and the snow just capped it off, but because Colin had sorted things out both clubs half expected it and had steered away from trying to arrange another game for Saturday.

“That’s why the new date was able to be confirmed so quickly, and that gave both clubs as much time as possible to plan for it.”