Farsley AFC manager Neil Parsley has vowed to step up the training regime at the club as the arctic conditions threaten to freeze the area once again.

Parsley had said early in the month that his club were fortunate to have their own excellent training facilities.

He also felt his players would not see any action before Christmas, but that was not the case.

They played a West Riding County Cup second-round tie in midweek and the gaffer felt his players were left wanting.

They equalled hosts Harrogate Railway Athletic in the 90 minutes but ended up losing 4-1 after extra time.

“There were some tired legs out there, and that had a bearing on the result and really disappointed me,” said Parsley.

“It wasn’t just that, but we have sat down and discussed the fitness since. You can’t expect the lads to be fully match-fit when they have played just once since November 20 but I had hoped they wouldn’t tire so badly.

“Jacko, Sim (assistant managers Mark Jackson and Simeon Bambrook) and myself have decided we will step up the training schedules that we set for the squad.

"At times like this, you need to be in the best possible shape to take full advantage of a game when it comes along. Our players are experienced enough to know that.”

Parsley and his coaching staff did have problems to contend with that weakened their side before extra- time was reached.

He added: “We had to take Lee Connor off because he had been suffering with a sickness virus and was very weak. We also lost Ben Jones and Gareth Grant before the end of normal time to little strains.

“Ryan Serrant couldn’t even be considered for the squad because he has been suffering nosebleeds and the doctors didn’t think it was advisable for him to play.

"He has had some blood vessels cauterised so is okay to rejoin the squad now and I don’t envisage the other three to miss any more games because of Tuesday’s problems.

“So if we get the players in tip-top condition, we should be strong enough to turn our form around when the games come along.”