Manager of the month Mark Bower’s Guiseley face a stern test as they host Boston United on Saturday.

The Lions boss has played down his role in the accolade, insisting it was a club success rather than a personal achievement. Yet the results gained in November have turned Guiseley’s season around.

They are still ten points adrift of this weekend’s visitors and behind neighbours Park Avenue, who they visit on Monday night, on goal difference. The Lions are in the top half of the Skrill North table but Boston are a better bet for promotion.

The Lincolnshire outfit are one of five clubs, from second down, locked on 32 points and just one off the summit, so are strong contenders for a play-off place, even though the season is just approaching the halfway point.

Boston beat the Lions 3-0 in Bower’s first game at the helm and he was impressed with what he saw.

He said: “Boston are up there, as so many teams are at the minute, and it will be a very tough test for us.

“They are a good team and they score a lot of goals from set-pieces, so it will be a very difficult game.

“But with the run of form we are in, there is no reason why we can’t go into the game expecting to compete and with the possibility of gaining a result.”

Bower pulled off another bit of business this week when he turned Danny Hall’s loan spell into a permanent move. Hall, a former team-mate of Bower’s, has a host of experience in the Football League, with Oldham Athletic among his former clubs.

Hall also has an eye for goal and has netted twice since signing, one a stunning 20-yard volley in the FA Trophy win over Histon. He has signed a deal which lasts until the end of the season and that will give the Lions a lift before what is a huge three days.