Bradford boss John Deacey knows just how hard a test his club will face when Hednesford Town visit Horsfall Stadium on Saturday.

The Midlands outfit are second in the Skrill Conference North and will be bidding to go top again, as they did when they beat Avenue 2-0 back in mid-December in the reverse fixture.

Deacey said: “We will have to put a real shift in because this is going to be a tough one.”

Avenue experienced a difficult December but they are on a mini-revival, having won their last two league games.

They have also rediscovered their goal touch by hammering in nine in the back-to-back victories.

“Hednesford are very organised and have a great fan base, so we always look forward to playing them,” added Deacey.

“They have a very good manager in Rob (Smith). I have known him and his assistant for many years and they are good football men. They also have the best midfield in the league and play the game the right way.

“We will definitely have our work cut out. It’s not going to be easy but we will compete and give them a game.

“We also like to play the correct way and will create chances. We hope we can upset the odds and get a win.”

Deacey has just one injury concern following last weekend’s 3-2 win at Gloucester City.

He said: “Nicky Boshell had to come off very early at Gloucester with a hamstring problem, so we are still assessing that.

“It looks as though we caught it in time and he might be available for Saturday.

“When he came off we had Richard Marshall on the bench coming back from a suspension and that was a real bonus.”

Having beefed up his squad with four signings over the last month, Deacey is pleased to have options ahead of two games in three days.

He said: “We had a really strong bench last week and Chib (Chilaka) in reserve. He was unlucky to miss out.

“It was nice to look at the substitutes and see what quality we had there because it is something we haven’t had for a while so the new players have really strengthened our hand.

“That’s just what you need going into a big weekend because after Hednesford we have Leamington at home on Monday.”