ACCRINGTON STANLEY boss Wayne Harrison will place the emphasis firmly on attack in the Reds basement battle with Bishop Auckland at the Crown.

It's a game Stanley simply must win to have any chance of escaping the drop after Colwyn Bay's midweek victory left them 13 points from safety.

Striker Paul Heavey returns from injury to partner Billy O'Callaghan in attack and Harrison may also throw loan-man Steve Longworth up alongside them in one last desperate throw of the dice.

"We need Paul back badly. We've got to go for the win so I'm going to be very positive in my team selection," said Harrison.

"Bishop Auckland aren't the greatest of sides but they had a great win last week when they beat Worksop so that will have given them a boost. But it seems like the fans are still behind me and I'll be trying to reward them with a win."

Meanwhile, Harrison has cooled his interest in Chorley striker Tony Black.

The Reds boss had hoped to bring Black back to the Crown but he isn't prepared to meet the Magpies £2,500 asking price.

He now looks set to join either Leigh RMI or Lancaster City who have both had bids accepted.

CHORLEY boss Dalton Steele has snapped up experienced defender George Shepherd on loan from Altrincham in time for the visit of Frickley Athletic.

Shepherd became Steele's 11th signing in two weeks when he made his debut alongside Warren Sexton and Tony Carroll in Wednesday night's 1-0 friendly defeat against Blackpool. And all three look set to start tomorrow's 'must win' clash as Gary Thomas, Eddie Hussin and Winfield Steele are ruled out through suspension.

"We've got 30 points to play for and we want to pick up as many as we can," said Steele.

"We'll miss the likes of Gary and Eddie because they are two of our more physical players.

"But Frickley like to play a bit of football and that might give people like Warren Sexton the chance to show what he can do."

GREAT HARWOOD trio Neil Otley, Dave Bennett and Neil Baron are back after injury for the trip to Witton Albion.

Their return will come as a welcome boost to manager Denis Underwood whose selection plans have been hampered by the loss of Mark Walsh and Martin Horsfield (both suspended).

The Reds will be looking for their second victory in a row after beating Matlock 2-1 last time out.

"It's been a frustrating couple of weeks," said Underwood.

"When you finally win after a bad run you can't wait for the next game but last week's match against Farsley Celtic was called off.

"We've just got to take each game as it comes and not worry about the whole picture.

"And if we can string three or four wins together then who knows what can happen."

CLITHEROE warmed up for their home game with Glossop North End by dumping Atherton Collieries out of the NWTL Floodlit Trophy last night.

The Blues, who have struggled to score goals recently, slammed seven past a shell-shocked Cols side to set up a two-legged semi final clash with Darwen. "I was very happy with how we applied ourselves last night," said manager Steve Parry.

"All-in-all it was a very satisfying display and we're now looking forward to a local derby with Darwen."

But first Parry must turn his attentions back to the league where a win tomorrow would keep his hopes of a top eight finish alive.

"We need to get some consistency into our game in the league and start stringing some wins together so we can get back into the top eight."

RAMSBOTTOM UNITED must pull off one of the shocks of the season to end their dismal run against high-flying Kidsgrove Athletic at the Riverside.

Ken Bridge's men have hit upon hard times after winning just one of their last six league games while third-placed Athletic have lost just six all season. "It's a good job we showed some decent form at the beginning of the season otherwise we'd be in serious trouble," said Ramsbottom secretary John Maher.

"Somewhere along the line we've got to arrest this poor run but we are going to have a job on doing that against Kidsgrove.

"We're now starting to see just how much we are missing the likes of Steve Brennan, Mike Langhorn and Billy McCartney because the players who've come in aren't of the same quality."

A niggling rib injury is set to keep Brennan out again against Athletic.

DARWEN have a quick chance to avenge last week's 2-1 defeat against Castleton Gabriels when the Rochdale-based outfit make the return trip to the Anchor.

Player-boss Steve Wilkes admitted that defeat all but ended his side's hopes of finishing in the top three.

But with 12 games left, Wilkes has set the Anchormen a target of eight wins to ensure a top six spot.

"You can't afford to go two months without winning in the league like we have and still expect to finish in the top two or three," said Wilkes.

"But who's to say if we finish fifth or sixth we won't go up anyway, the way this league is run.

"If we play as well as we did against them last Saturday then I think we'll get something out of it.

"But we need to win at least seven or eight of our remaining matches to ensure we finish as high as possible."

Neil Cordingley and Dave Barnes are back in contention after injury but Jimmy Khan is ruled out with a knock.

COLNE boss Denzil Hart may be forced to raid the transfer market in a bid to solve his latest injury crisis.

Keith Chambers, Mark Holland, Barry White, Mark Baldaccino and Joel Warner are all likely to be absent for the Reds clash at Chadderton.

"Obviously, I've got to get a couple of new bodies in before the deadline so we're not going to be left short," said Hart.

"But Johnny Roye has come back into the side recently and done well and Jordan Heseltine, scored on his debut last week, so they are capable of plugging the gaps."

NELSON manager John Bailey has signed striker Mark Robinson from Great Harwood Town, and he joins the squad for tomorrow's away game at Daisy Hill, along with midfielder Ian Fleming who has had a couple of games in the reserves after months sidelined by a knee injury.

Though Daisy Hill won 3-2 at Victoria Park earlier this season, the New Sirs ground usually yields league points for Nelson, and they will be keen to avenge that reverse tomorrow.

"It's usually a good ground for us and I'm hoping that doesn't change on Saturday," said Bailey.

"Of our six remaining games, four are at home, and I'm setting a target of 50 points for the season".

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