FARSLEY Celtic returned to winning ways in the Evo-Stik League on Boxing Day but remain three points outside the Premier Division play-off places as they head to Rushall Olympic in their last game of 2017 tomorrow.

The Pics are battling for every point as the 18th-placed Dales Lane club have just a two-point cushion on the clubs in the drop zone.

They have two games in hand on Whitby Town after the Celts' 2-0 win at the Turnbull Ground and Rushall also have one game in hand on basement outfit Sutton Coldfield Town.

Farsley's win on Tuesday dropped Whitby to 21st, just inside the relegation places.

It was a bad Boxing Day for the Pics as well as they went down 2-1 to neighbours Hednesford Town.

Celts boss Adam Lakeland was delighted with the win and his players' strength of character after their long wait for a league game.

In their last game of November, the Celts suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat to Sutton Coldfield, and on the first Saturday of this month they lost 2-1 at Hednesford.

Farsley then had to endure back-to-back postponements on the other two Saturdays, so had not played a league game since December 2.

It was important they picked up points at lowly Whitby – and they could do with another maximum in Walsall tomorrow as they host second-placed Shaw Lane on New Year's Day.

BRIGHOUSE TOWN will be hoping their sequence of results through December continues to their last fixture of the year in Division One.

Unlike Farsley, who have only played two league games this month, Town will be playing their fifth as they host Goole AFC at the Yorkshire Pay Stadium.

Vill Powell's men have won, lost, won, lost and will be looking for a win to keep up the sequence.

The Vikings are propping up the table as they journey to Brighouse.

They have picked up just two points from the last nine and have won only two league games so far this term, with neither of those coming away from home.

Town are one of four clubs on 20 points going into the weekend, so there is the potential for them to climb as high as 16th if they pick up points and their three closest rivals do not.