NIGEL Fanthorpe is hoping his Grimsby Borough side can start December in style with a home win against Shirebrook Town tomorrow.
Borough face the Mansfield-area team at the Bradley Community Stadium (3pm) – and will be gunning for the three points they need to set them up nicely for the forthcoming festive period.
With a Christmas schedule of games which Fanthorpe deems to be "winnable", the coming weeks mark an opportunity to make up some ground on the Northern Counties East League Division One pacesetters.
And it all starts tomorrow against the side immediately above them in the table.
Fanthorpe said: "Shirebrook are three points above us with two games in hand, so three points is a must for us tomorrow.
"They have been in sketchy form of late, but it is all about us really.
"If we go out and get our game going, we should be okay.
"After this game, we go into the Christmas period and we have a winnable series of games."
One of Borough's star men, Andy Taylor, is again an injury doubt.
The former Grimsby Town striker is a key component of the side, and is in the division's top scorer charts having netted 13 goals in the league so far this season.
Fanthorpe continued: "We lost against Knaresborough last weekend but 4-1 was not a fair reflection on the game.
"We played quite well and had a good tempo in the second half when we were trying to fight back from 2-1 down.
"But then they scored two 30-yarders which killed the game. One was an unstoppable free-kick, the other was a low bobbling shot.
"Overall, the performance was not too bad. When you lose, you sometimes come away pulling your hair out after a poor display, but it wasn't like that.
"We do need to be a bit tighter at the back, though. We are letting too many in, and some of them are down to a lack of concentration".
Admission for tomorrow's game at the Bradley Community Stadium is £4 for adults, £2 for children and free for job-seekers and national servicemen.
