MARK Bower wants his Bradford Park Avenue players to prove that last weekend’s lacklustre performance was a one-off.

Play-off-seeking Avenue managed to lose 1-0 at home to the Vanarama National League North’s bottom club North Ferriby United.

Bower did not sugar coat his feelings in his post-match interview and reiterated five days later that he stood by everything that he said – including that it was the worst display in the 18 months that he has been at Horsfall Stadium.

He said: “We did something similar last season against Stalybridge when they were bottom of the league.

“You know that teams at the bottom are going to win matches during the course of the season, but you have to make sure that they are not against you.

“You don’t always get a feeling as a manager that teams are off it in the dressing room or during the warm-up, but we still had more than enough chances to win the game.”

What will frustrate Bower even more is that the defeat to North Ferriby came immediately after his side took a 2-0 lead at front-runners Salford City, although they were eventually pegged back to 2-2 by an Anthony Dudley brace.

With training this week proving a write-off and the weather having forced the postponement of tomorrow’s match at Brackley Town, the next chance that Avenue will have to get the North Ferriby defeat out of their system will be at home to Alfreton Town a week tomorrow.

By that time Bower hopes to have Mark Ross, Wayne Brooksby and Javan Vidal available.

lBradford Park Avenue are holding a sportsman’s dinner at the Midland Hotel, Bradford on Friday, April 20.

Guest speaker is former Leeds United and Scotland midfielder Eddie Gray, and former Avenue players are invited to contact Dave Stordy on 01274-512989 or davestordy@hotmail.co.uk.

He said: “We would like to have a table of players from the 1960s, one from the 1970s and several from more recent decades.”