Despite two defeats over Christmas, Macclesfield Town continue to harbour hopes of reaching the Conference play-offs.
John Askey could only name three substitutes on Sunday for one of their biggest games of the season at big-hitting Bristol Rovers.
And he admits his squad is in need of a shot in the arm if they’re to capitalise on a massively successful first half of the season.
Although Rovers’ 4-0 victory over his men means they end 2014 on a low note, Askey says his over-achievers should look at their third spot and be confident going into the New Year’s Day game – the return fixture against Grimsby Town.
“We’re still fighting, what we have to get through to the players is that we’re third, and we’ll go again – that’s the attitude we have to have,” said Askey (above) after the season’s heaviest defeat. “There’ll be times when things don’t go for us, that’s always going to happen, especially when you’ve got injuries and illnesses, it becomes very difficult with a very small squad.
“The players are determined to do well, as I am. So we’ll roll our sleeves up and have a good go. We want to achieve something, hopefully we can do it with the players we’ve got, but it feels like we’re doing the job with both hands tied behind our backs, and our legs as well.
“I’ve said before we need some help and if the club is serious about trying to get in the play-offs then we need somebody to come forward.”
Paul Lewis and Will Haining should be making their returns in mid-January but defender Liam Hogan has suffered a broken bone in his foot, effectively ending his loan spell from Fleetwood.
That blow, coupled with captain Paul Turnbull’s illness, left Askey with 14 available players at the Gas, who pulled in a crowd of 6,943 – gates that Askey can only look on with envy.
And though he and his men continue to excel against all odds, Askey hopes they can get off-field assistance which could be crucial if they’re to make dreams of a Football League return a reality.
“You can’t fault the players for their efforts," he added. “We had Dan Cowan in, he was ill on Christmas Day, he’s not been able to train but he came in and did really well. We’ve had some good performances – it’s just those little things, when you’ve got a full-strength team you can compete better.
“We need investment, though that doesn’t guarantee anything – the players we’ve got have been terrific, we think we’ve got some good players, it’s just that when you get injuries and illness you need players to come in. Teams such as Bristol Rovers and others have got that.
“I’ve got players who I can get in, it’s just getting the finances to do it and at the moment we don’t have that, that’s why we’ve ended up two short on the bench today.”
Once their New Year’s Day appointment at Blundell Park is over, Askey and Efe Sodje will have a two-week break before going to Kidderminster Harriers on January 17.
“We’re ending the year in third position, that’s how I look at it, not looking at just the last two games,” added Askey. “We’ve got a long break after the Grimsby match so hopefully we can regroup and go again but as everybody can see we need players coming in.”
