RUSS O'Neill says there will be no sentiment when he is reunited with Alfreton Town when they face Guiseley this weekend.

The Lions joint-manager spent 10 years at Alfreton as assistant manager to Nicky Law between May 2007 and February 2017.

Now he will see his new side host his previous employers at Nethermoor on Saturday in the Vanarama National League North. Alfreton are four places and four points above the Lions, who will be looking to close this gap.

Guiseley have now drawn half of their league matches this season, 15 from 30, after a 3-3 share of the spoils at FC United of Manchester last Saturday.

O'Neill says he will be all business on matchday, despite seeing a number of familiar faces. He had nearly a decade at Alfreton until former Bradford City boss Law joined Premier League side Burnley as its head of national recruitment for under 17-23s in February 2017.

O'Neill said: "I had a good 10 years there, a lot of good memories. We went down there early in the season and had a good 1-0 win. I am 100 per cent focused on getting the result for Guiseley on Saturday.

"There are no easy games. They will pose as big a threat as Stockport did when we played them recently.

"We need to learn to manage games better. We need to slow games down and take the sting out of teams. It's massively important.

"We were looking at the maths and if we had turned five of our draws this season into wins, then we would have 10 more points and then looking at the play-off positions."

Meanwhile, the Lions booked their place in the West Riding County Challenge Cup final after a 4-3 extra-time win over Barnoldswick Town on Tuesday night.

The Hallmark Security League Premier Division side put up a good fight, but Paul Clayton's extra-time strike secured a final date with Ossett United on April 9.

O'Neill added: "This season we have now go to a cup final and the second round of the FA Cup.

"The cup final should help us have a strong end to the season. It is good for the supporters and the semi-final was good for them to watch."

Meanwhile, Guiseley were given a timely boost ahead of last weekend's Manchester trip as captain Scott Garner returned from injury after being out since September.

Striker Akeel Francis has also signed for the Lions. The 19-year-old striker joins from League One side Accrington Stanley.

He joined Championship outfit Rotherham United but did not make a first-team appearance.

Francis had a loan spell at North Ferriby before leaving the Millers to join Accrington in January last year. He has also had spells at both Wrexham and Rochdale this season.