PARK AVENUE'S fellow National North relegation strugglers could steal a march on them tomorrow – but boss Mark Bower believes a break could do his side some good.

Avenue were close to climbing out of the drop zone a fortnight ago but back-to-back defeats have hampered their survival bid.

The club directly below them, Stalybridge Celtic, and the two directly above them just outside the drop zone, Gainsborough Trinity and Alfreton Town, are in action while Avenue face a blank weekend.

While Bower accepts that it is not ideal timing – their next game is at Curzon Ashton next Saturday – he feels the rest could serve his squad well.

He said: “I would have liked us to have had a game but I don’t think it’s a bad thing that we’ve got a bit of a break from relegation fight.

“We had put ourselves in a good position and we had a bit of momentum behind us. We’re not back to square one but the two defeats have cost us and we have it all to do again.

“In that respect it’s good that we can just step back and take stock. I think we need to get out there on the training ground and get back to basics. We can work with the players and it will give the lads carrying knocks a bit more recovery time.

“We had Shane Killock and Matt Hill both missing with calf injuries last weekend at home to Boston and we missed them. "Shane had only just picked up his injury but Matt has been out for a while and having two players missing from the back four is going to cause problems for any club.”

Alfreton and Gainsborough could extend the four-point gap between themselves and Avenue with positive results at home to Brackley and away to Harrogate respectively, while Stalybridge, who are eight points behind but with two games in hand, host Telford.

Meanwhile, Bower hopes to strengthen his resources during the respite.

He brought Oli Johnson in from Guiseley on a permanent deal this week but on-loan Jack Dyche was recalled by League One outfit Scunthorpe United.

Bower said: “We’ve got a player in but we’ve got more irons in the fire. We’ve not been scoring as many as we like and we’re concentrating on strengthening in that area but prolific goal scorers are like gold dust so it’s difficult.

“We also have a couple of lads out on loan so we’ll have to assess those deals at the end of the month. I’m confident that there will be more new faces in to help us get that momentum back and hopefully beat the drop.

“The Boston game was being talked about as a must-win game. I think that every game is a must-win now because of our position.”

* Jayne Spencer has joined Avenue as a consulting community development manager.

Based in Halifax, she has a wealth of business experience and will be responsible for forging links, partnerships and projects within the community.

.