AHEAD of today’s visit of Chorley, Mark Bower has heaped praise on to the balance of his side in recent weeks.

Bradford (Park Avenue) have gone four games unbeaten and gone without conceding in their previous three fixtures- to give themselves breathing space above the league’s lowest placed sides.

On Tuesday evening Avenue claimed an impressive 2-0 victory at Spennymoor Town, which signalled their third clean sheet in as many games.

Not only that, Bower’s side have found a ruthless streak in order to put games to bed, and Tuesday was a fitting example of that, with the hosts being reduced to ten men.

Bower said: “Prior to our unbeaten run, we had to go through a difficult patch where we lost three on the bounce.

“But we had a performance in that run against Gloucester, particularly in the second half where we played really well, and were able to gain a lot of confidence from that display.

“We've had some good results together after that. I don't think many people would have had us down for picking up points against Kidderminster and Spennymoor, but we did and I have to give full credit to my side for turning hard work on the training pitch into positive matchday performances.

"The clean sheets are obviously a standout and it shows that we are defending better as a unit, but we also look looking extremely threatening at the other end. The balance in our side at the minute is fantastic and hopefully we can continue like this moving forward."

Avenue return to action at home to promotion chasing Chorley today.

Speaking ahead of the fixture, Bower said: "We should be confident going into this one because we've had some good results,we look a threat and we have tightened up at the back.

"They're a good side and are right up there challenging for promotion, so we expect a very tough game but we have every confidence that we can get a positive result.

"They don't have the resources to match the teams around them, but they do on a consistent basis, so I have the upmost respect for them as a club and their coaching team.

"They're a strong, physical and well organised team but they have got quality as well, so it's a great blend to have. They deserve to be up there."

Bower added: "They've got good pace in their team, they're good at set pieces and they're defensively strong.

"I expect we'll need to play with the same kind of intensity as we have been to get a result. It should be a fascinating game."