Farsley boss Neil Parsley is backing his squad to come through a tough holiday period that should see them play five games in 15 days.

The Villagers were held to a draw at lowly Harrogate Railway on Boxing Day but the result meant their unbeaten run was stretched to eight games.

Due to face a testing trip to Ramsbottom United today, a home match against Ossett Albion on New Year’s Day and then a difficult fixture at Cammell Lairds the following Saturday, Parsley is hoping his club come through it with their promotion credentials intact.

He said: “You can’t look at Harrogate away and expect to win. They gave us a very hard game and almost won it. I know it’s an old cliché but they are all tough games.

“Look at Ramsbottom, they may not be in the play-off frame at the minute but they were one of the favourites for promotion at the start of the season.

“They got off to a bad start and are still recovering but that doesn’t mean they are a bad side. We will have to be ready for them.

“The Christmas and New Year period is always a testing one but I think our squad will cope with it. We haven’t got a big squad but we have a clean bill of health after the Harrogate game which is a huge bonus.

“Matty James has been struggling with an ankle injury and Aiden Savory has played a lot of games recently with Lee Ellington restricted because he was on the comeback from his calf injury. But both Matty and Aiden got some rest in midweek and that was important because they will be ready for today and someone else will get a much needed bit of rest.

“As long as we stay clear of injury we should be fine. We will look at tomorrow's game and then we have four days to recover before New Year's Day and then another few days before next Saturday. It is another old cliché but we will take it one game at a time.”