THE midweek victory lifted Guiseley right back into the promotion fray in Vanarama Conference North and manager Mark Bower believes that his Lions can stay there.

Bower said: “It’s very tight this year, teams have dropped off and then gone on a little run and got right back up there. That’s what we’ve done and we will be looking to stay in there now.

“At the minute no one is pulling away which is unusual for this division. Maybe we can be the one that puts a string of results together and pulls away but I very much doubt that, I don’t think we’ll manage that.

“We have played a lot of the top sides, Barrow, Fylde, Hednesford Town and the like and I don’t think we’re too far away. I think this is the strongest this league has been, certainly since I’ve been involved in it.

“In the past you’ve had teams like Chester winning it by a big points total but there isn’t a stand-out club so far. If a club goes on a special run then they might start to pull clear or if the clubs spending a lot like Harrogate Town or Barrow bring a few new players in around January then one of those might start to run away.”

Bower has no need to draft players in because he has evolved his squad steadily as the season has progressed. He has also used the loan system wisely and his experience and contacts within the game have been invaluable to Guiseley.

He added: “Everyone wants to keep clear of injuries but that never happens so we’ve had to dip into the transfer market.

“We managed to get Josh Wilson in early on and he covered for AJ (Alex Johnson) but he’s fit again now. We’ve got Shane Killock at the moment and he’s in covering for Danny Hall.

“Danny has been out all season but we got Alex McQuade in at the start of the season because we had both Danny and Danny Lowe out and later on we got Jake Skelton from Leeds United so we’ve never been short of numbers or quality.”