Bradford Park Avenue will be going into Saturday's journey to Ashton United brimming with confidence thanks to a very good midweek victory that re-established their three-point lead at the summit of the UniBond League Premier Division.

With the number of games remaining now down to single figures for the top two - Guiseley are Avenue’s nearest rivals - the battle for promotion is reaching an exciting finale.

Avenue will stay in front no matter what the outcome of Guiseley’s early kick-off against FC United of Manchester.

FC United will provide fierce opposition as they will be smarting because of their midweek home defeat at the hands of Avenue.

Just to add something else to the mix, as if other ingredients were necessary, Avenue host Guiseley in a rearranged game at Horsfall Stadium on Monday night. But Bradford boss John Deacey will have no talk of the forthcoming derby as his focus is on the trip to Ashton.

However, chairman Dr John Dean was speaking as a fan and a member of the board when he said: “We are going into the weekend still top before the big one on Monday.

“Boston lost at Whitby Town on Wednesday and Retford were beaten at home the night before, so others are falling away.

"It will be a very interesting end to the season because we have Guiseley to play twice.

“I think by Easter everyone will know where they stand and we hope to be in there with the rest of them.”

Deacey brought all three substitutes on at Gigg Lane in midweek and all three were recent signings he had drafted in to strengthen his squad for the run-in. Dominic Krief and Ryan Serrant were snapped up following the sad demise of Blue Square North outfit Farsley Celtic, while Brett Renshaw was picked up from lower-ranking Garforth Town.

Dean added: "John (manager Deacey) was very shrewd with his changes in the last game, and they all worked out. The substitutions were all inspired and did well when they came on.

“They were also made with other games in mind because none of them were due to injuries. Amjad Iqbal was taken off as a precaution, Martin Drury because it was his first game back and he was feeling the pace of the game late on, and Rob O’Brien was replaced by Krief to freshen things up in midfield.

“Serrant, Krief and Renshaw all came on, and if you have a bench as strong as that you use it. With the big games coming up all the players need as much match-time as possible.”