MARK Bower has urged his Bradford (Park Avenue) side to go out and prove people wrong again.

Avenue have a crunch six-pointer away at seventh-placed Altrincham on Saturday after not playing for two weeks due to double postponements.

Bower said the circumstances weren't ideal, but that the team had worked hard during the forced halt in play.

He said: "The week before last, there was no chance with the frozen temperatures, but last week's a disappointment when it's the only one off in the league, so it's not ideal but we just get on with it.

"There's no excuses, we've worked hard enough and we should be ready to go on Saturday."

Avenue are still searching for a win in 2019, but Bower said there's no pressure on his side and they have a clear goal in mind.

He said: "Each and every game there's three points to play for and we know a target we've got in mind that we'll need to get into the play-offs and every game's an opportunity to get closer to that target.

"I don't think, the position that we're in and what's gone on this season, anyone expects us to stay in these positions.

"The message to the lads is to go out and prove people wrong again and hopefully, if they do that, we'll pick up enough points to stay challenging amongst those top teams."

Saturday's fixture at a hit-and-miss Altrincham gives Bower's men the chance to arrest their slide.

But, the Avenue boss expects a tough game against a side he described as being the best they've come up against this season.

Bower said: "It's obviously a big game and a team that are up and around us in the league, so we know how important it is to try and get some points out of it.

"They've strengthened their goalkeeper position as well, so it's going to be a really tough game.

The Avenue Boss hopes their mini break will have left his side refreshed and ready to show the kind of quality they did up until Christmas.

He is boosted by the arrival of striker Macaulay Langstaff on loan from York City for a month.

The 22-year-old impressed at Billingham Synthonia in the 2017/18 season, where he scored 31 goals in 46 appearances.

Bower said: "That goalscoring record he's got shows he's a good finisher and I think he'll compliment the players that we've got at the end of the pitch.

"Up until the last three or four weeks we were the top scorers in the league but recently we've been struggling to find the net, so it just freshens up that area and gives us a different option to what we've got.

"Macauley's keen to come and get minutes under his belt and hopefully score some goals for us."