ON Thursday Bradford (Park Avenue) confirmed the loan extension of Sheffield United's Thomas Angell until January 3, 2023

Angell originally joined Bower's side on a youth loan from the Championship side on October 7, and he has shown an immense amount of skill in a number of roles since his arrival.

He also made the Vanarama NL North Team of the Week for his first appearance against Curzon Ashton.

Now that he has his man until January, Bower spoke of his delight to extend the talented youngster's deal. He said: "It's great news that we've been able to extend Tom's loan deal because he's come in and done well; he has given us some great balance on that left-hand side in the formation that we play in.

"We've seen him improve game-by-game in his time with us and most importantly, it suits all parties. Sheffield United are allowing their player to gain valuable first team experience, we get some added quality to our team until January and Tom is very much enjoying his football so it's a win-win. Not only that, his arrival coincided with a pick up in form for ourselves so it was key that we got the extension over the line.

Bower added: "It also provides us with that extra squad depth. We've seen in recent weeks that teams at this level including ourselves, are struggling with the heavy schedule as our squads are being tested to the max. We have faced this issue in the last couple of weeks so it's vitally important that you get those extra bodies in when you can, or in our case retain a player of Tom's quality and versatility."

Avenue have suffered two league defeats on the bounce despite playing well, and reflecting on those losses, Bower said: "I thought on Saturday at Chester that we played well; it was a game that could have gone either way but they take their once chance and we missed a couple of good opportunities. All-in-all, I was really pleased with the display we put in at a side who've recently gone up to fifth in the table.

"Then Monday we started okay and went in at half-time 1-0 up, but we couldn't get anything going in the second-half which was extremely disappointing really. However, I must give credit to the lads because they've been playing really well in the last few weeks but we are just missing that slice of luck.

"The lads' confidence hasn't dropped because as I've said, the performances and points tally over the past weeks have been good. There have been lots of positives to take and I've made the lads well aware of that, however, at the same time we know we need to get points on the board, and I'm sure that will come."

Bower's men will be looking to get back to winning ways at Alfreton Town today, but Bower admitted that it will be no easy task.

He said: "A win would be huge for us this weekend as it would get us back on the right track. However, they're a very big and physical side so we'll have to be wary of their strength and height particularly from set pieces.

"If we stick to our game plan, I have full faith in my side to go out there and get the job done."