Guiseley manager Bobby Davison was left to reflect on the commitment of his side after they were outclassed by league leaders Leigh RMI on Saturday losing 3-0.

"Some of the lads just don't seem to hurt enough when we lose," said Davison.

"We need five wins from somewhere and they need to get out there and roll their sleeves up. They have got to work harder, stand up and show some more passion. One or two just get pushed aside too easily. They are good footballers but they have to get another side to their game. They need to watch tapes of Graeme Souness and get the nasty side into their game."

Davison, never one to shirk his responsibilities, turned up for the usual after match press conference and although most people would have been at a loss for words after such a dismal performance the manager remained upbeat.

With a pelvic injury Davison is struggling but he is still determined to help his side battle it out with star striker Simon Parke serving out the last game of a four match suspension last night, Wednesday, at Bishop Auckland.

Davison had to team up with former Sheffield United striker Tony Agana for Saturday's game and at times both looked to be struggling with injury although they had the deft touches and ability to hold the ball up which is a hallmark of their game. Unfortunately the legs just weren't there when needed.

Davison however felt that even if Parke had been playing things would not have been much better due to the poor service.

"The crosses just aren't coming in and even Simon would struggle with the poor service at the moment. Players should not be looking to Andy Williams all the time, they should be sparking things off themselves. They all meed to make things happen," said Davison.

Of the Leigh game he said: "We started well but then gave them two silly goals. You can't do that against anybody, top or bottom of the league. Our 'keeper Nigel Muttick was like Super Man at times but what the hell was he doing when they scored the second goal?"

He added: "We created one or two decent opportunities with David Cooke getting in three or four headers with one cleared from under the bar but we have got to work a bit harder when we have not got the ball to get it back. We cant just have one lad chasing about, everybody has to do it"

"I think Leigh worked harder than we did. If you don't close players down they will be able to pick out passes of 30 or 40 yards."

Returning to the thoughts of Souness Davison said: "Graeme said on a TV programme the other night that if you work your socks off your skill will always come out but if you don't work your skills are no good. Some of our young lads think things will happen without working hard."

The defeat by Leigh took Guiseley to third from bottom and they must now scrap for their Premier Division survival.

A 13th minute error by Matt Daly when his mis-headed clearance was latched onto by Peter Cumiskey saw the ball swept across goal for Brian Ross to score.

Leigh looked title contenders through and throughwith Steve Jones and Cumiskey particularly prominent in some flowing football.

In the 38th minute Leigh made it 2-0 when Nigel Muttick raced out of his goal to try and stop Jones but he looped the ball over the 'keeper into the net.

Guiseley had a chance to narrow the deficit close to half-time but David Cooke's header was cleared from under the bar.

Within two minutes of the re-start Leigh were 3-0 up when Ged Kielty scored from close range.

l On Saturday Guiseley entertain Worksop with Parke back in the fold and then on Tuesday visit Frickley Athletic.

Harrogate Town..........0

Guiseley Academy.......2

A competent rather than spectacular performance by Guiseley Academy gave them a well-deserved victory over a hard-working but uninspired Harrogate team.

Lee Reilly, the league's second top scorer, opened the scoring for Guiseley on ten minutes and Peter Sumner hit the second from 20 yards five minutes into the second period.

Guiseley could and should have scored at least three more goals with several chances, but the woodwork (twice) and the home 'keeper denied them a more emphatic win.

Harrogate had their moments, but John Lamb had a good night in the visitor's goal. There were fine debuts for Markham and Sheard for Guiseley and Danny McCartney and Ian Hudson again stood out for them.

Guiseley Res........0

Ashton Res..........1

Guiseley Reserves played Ashton United on Tuesday night and lost 1-0. It was a very different Ashton side to the one Guiseley defeated a couple of weeks ago, bearing more resemblance to their first team than their second.

However, Guiseley still had plenty of chances to win the game with Julian Wilkes missing a string of gilt edged chances.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.