A FORTNIGHT in management must seem a long time to new Guiseley boss Neil Parsley with three successive defeats, not a goal scored and no new players signed.

Yet despite the latest setback - a 1-0 defeat at Witton Albion - he remaned upbeat yesterday in looking forward to Saturday's home FA Trophy tie against Eastwood Town.

"While we did not get the result we wanted at Witton, there was a definite improvement in the performance of the players, apart from one lapse in concentration which cost us the game," he said.

Ironically, the goal in the 33rd minute came just after Guiseley's Andy Shuttleworth had seen his shot tipped over the bar by former Crewe goalkeeper Dean Greystoke.

Shuttleworth was then penalised and when winger Francis Tierney lifted the free-kick into the penalty area, Guiseley's defence could not get it away and Paul Hennin followed in to score.

"We felt the free-kick was a bit harsh, but then we failed to deal with the kick through our marking on the right," said Parsley.

After this, Witton dealt competently with whatever Guiseley could throw at them and Hennin and Tyrrell had chances to put the home side further ahead. In addition, Guiseley goalkeeper Nigel Muttick did well to push away a curling shot from full back Lee Anderson.

Guiseley's best effort came in the 75th minute, only for Paul Burke's well struck shot to be saved by Greystoke.

An unusual incident occurred when the referee sent off Witton substitute Steve Haw while he was still on the bench for abusing an assistant referee. He now faces a four-match ban.

Parsley's search for strikers goes on, but there will be no activity before Saturday as any newcomer could not be registered in time for the Trophy tie.

Parsley is under no illusions about the importance of the game. "It is very, very importantfor us to remain involved in the cup for three reasons:

"We need a win, a cup run will help the club's financial position, and it also will give the fans something to cheer about. However, I will require the same level of commitment I got on Saturday if we are to stand a chance of getting a result."

And showing that the task of turning Guiseley's fortunes around has not cost him his sense of humour, he added: "However, getting a goal would be like getting three points to me at the moment!"

He could well see the welcome return of defender Colin Hogarth on Saturday. The classy veteran has been out for a month with a bruised achilles tendon. And Parsley is looking for one or two new faces by the time Guiseley travel to Winsford on November 11, hoping to improve their league position - currently fifth from the bottom of Division 1.