BRADFORD (Park Avenue) manager Mark Bower has admitted that, unlike most managers, he is looking forward to deadline day today.

That is because there will only be very limited restrictions on Avenue, meaning that players who are keen to get Football League experience may have to drop down to a lower tier once the window shuts.

He explained: "The only restriction we have is that if we want to sign young players from Premier League teams who are on pro contracts, that must be before January 31 (today).

"But the only real deadline for us is the last Thursday in March, when we can't sign anyone after that.

"Deadline day won't hinder us and it might help us, because players who'd want to play higher up might become options.

"We still keep looking out for quality and value."

Bower would surely welcome any player who could sprinkle some stardust on his struggling team, but he insisted the morale within the camp is still high, despite them sitting 13 points from safety in the Vanarama National League North.

It is another tough assignment tomorrow, as Bradford visit Southport. The Merseysiders are a highly-regarded side within the league, but their play-off charge has hit the buffers over the last month.

Before they edged out Gloucester City 1-0 last Saturday, they had lost five league games on the bounce.

Bower said: "I hope they're low on confidence. They've had a bad run but they're still in play-off contention.

"They're a settled squad with players who've been there for years, so you know what you'll face as they're consistent.

"They had a good result last week but there'll be pressure on them, as they're at home and they'll expect to beat us.

"I'm looking for more resilience from us, especially early on, so we're not chasing the game."

That was Bower's main gripe with Avenue's 2-0 defeat at Altrincham last Saturday, as they conceded in the opening minute, not for the first time this season.

He believes confidence is still high in the Bradford camp leading up to games, but admitted that can evaporate out on the pitch.

He said: "We've obviously not been winning and setbacks in game can really affect you. But the build up has been fine and we've more than matched teams like Hereford, Boston and Brackley over the last few weeks.

"You've seen how quickly things can change for teams, it just takes one result.

"Two seasons ago we had six wins in a row to put ourselves into a play-off semi-final for example.

"We believe we're capable (of getting out of danger) but we're looking no further than Southport for now."

Bower believes he should have a full squad to pick from on Merseyside, including new Cypriot international full-back Stelios Demetriou.

He said he regretted using veteran midfielder Nicky Clee last week, as he was recovering from illness, but was confident that the player would be fine for tomorrow.