MARK Fell says any new arrivals at Ramsbottom United before Thursday’s transfer deadline will be with an eye on next season.

Despite facing what Fell describes as a fixture list ‘verging on ridiculous’, he says any additions to his squad will be with a longer-term view.

Rammy travel to Atherton Collieries tonight (7.45pm) aiming to build on Saturday’s win over bottom side Goole AFC.

No side in the Evo-Stik North has played fewer games than Rammy’s 29, and they now face 13 games in the space of six weeks to get their fixtures completed.

And Fell admits he may need to add to his ranks further, having already recruited four new faces in the last month.

He said: “We have got quite a small squad. We have the reserves and young players that we can look to and give them some experience but we will need to put out a side that is experienced enough to be able to win the games.

“We will look to bring a couple in but anyone that we do bring in will probably have an eye towards next season as well.

“There is no point bringing someone in just thinking about the last six weeks of the season, we would want something a bit more long term.”

Fell’s side played their first game of March on Saturday after the cold snap hit the fixture list hard.

They face nine games in April as well as four more this month, and Fell added: “The fixture list is verging on ridiculous.

“We have to play 13 games in six weeks, it is absolutely crazy.

“It was a big plus for us to win the game (at home to Goole) with the run that we have been on.

“The snow had all gone and they do a lot of good work at the ground and made it as flat as possible because non-league pitches at this stage of the season can be pretty bobbly.

“With so many home games still to play, we want to keep the pitch as good as we can.

“We hope this can be the start of a decent run and we can progress from a performance point of view.”

Rammy currently sit 16th in the table, with 32 points from 29 games.

On the mindset of his side heading into the closing weeks, Fell said: “We still have a job to do.

“The issue is that we have played the least games of anyone in the league but we aren’t looking at where we could finish, we will take every one as it comes.

“We want to try and finish in the best possible position that we can.

“We have got lots of games in hand to play and it’s impossible to play so many matches in such a short space of time without it catching up with you.”

Colls, two places and seven points above the Rams, are unbeaten in their last 10 games with Fell well aware of the challenge his side will face tonight.

He added: “They are a good side. They are unbeaten in 10 and football works a lot on confidence, something that we have struggled for.

“We had a decent win on Saturday and will look to get another result which will take the pressure off the game at leaders South Shields at the weekend.

“But this will be a tough game, they are a good side, have lots of pace and power but we have done our homework as we always do and have come up with a game-plan which we feel can help us win the game.”

Elsewhere, Clitheroe face a crunch clash in the play-off race at home to Trafford while Colne entertain Colwyn Bay.

In the Hallmark Security League Premier Division, Barnoldswick visit 1874 Northwich.