BRADFORD Park Avenue may have had a wasted evening on Wednesday but boss Mark Bower is looking at the positives of their midweek away game being subjected to a late postponement.

Avenue were due to play promotion-chasing Darlington 1883 and the game looked set to go ahead as the north east had been much drier than West Yorkshire.

Yet the weather took a turn for the worse in the afternoon and a local referee deemed the pitch at Blackwell Meadows unfit for play.

Bower said: "We were halfway there, so it was very frustrating, but the way it came down there was nothing anyone could have done.

"It was the right call to postpone the game and we managed to sort out a full training session for Thursday, so in terms of preparation for Saturday it was just like any normal weekend game.

"We might benefit from it if we make the most of the situation and we can go into what is a crucial game fresher than if we'd played on Wednesday.

"It will be a tough game as Altrincham may be bottom but they recently held a very good Harrogate side, who were on a good run, and then beat Worcester and won away at Boston.

"The Stalybridge game is fresh in our minds and that will act as another reminder that we cannot allow our standards to drop even by a few per cent."

Avenue were looking to get back on track from their 4-3 loss at Stalybridge after National North defeats to Gloucester and Halifax. The Darlington game has already been rearranged and Avenue will travel up north again next Wednesday.

Bower said: "It'll now be between the Altrincham and the Alfreton games because it's getting towards the last few weeks of the season and you've got to fit these games in.

"We've got to take each one as it comes as well – it's no good projecting targets. We are four points clear of the bottom three and that's the best position we've been in all season.

"We have to keep doing what we're doing and pick up enough points to stay in this league. A lot is made of who's got the hardest run-in and people will speculate about where teams will or won't pick points up – but it doesn't work like that.

"We've got to put enough points on the board, sooner rather than later, to release the pressure on us."