After their fortress was finally penetrated on Boxing Day, Macclesfield Town have it all to do in two arduous away-days if they're to ensure it's not a black Christmas for them.

Play-off rivals Grimsby Town brought Macc's proud unbeaten run at home to an end on Boxing Day, and things get no easier tomorrow, since they go to Bristol Rovers.

The Pirates took advantage of Macc's defeat, overtaking John Askey's men with their victory over Torquay United to occupy second spot in the table.

And Askey insists that the Grimsby loss won't affect their approach to a tough ask in Bristol, ahead of the return fixture at the Mariners' home.

John Askey's side tasted defeat for the first time at home this term
 

“It's disappointing because we haven't won, especially with us getting a decent gate but it had to happen,” said the manager after former winger Jack Mackreth had scored the only goal of the Grimsby game for his present club. “The important thing is how we react having lost. They're a decent side and obviously they've got decent resources behind them and there was very little between the teams.

“You'd expect a reaction at Bristol Rovers, the players have shown good character all season and I'm sure they don't want to let it slip, having got into such a good position.

“We've got loads to play for and as we've done with previous games we forget about this one and move on to the next game to see if we can get something.

“Defeat today changes nothing about our approach on Sunday, we'll just go out and give it everything we've got.”

They'll have to be on song at Rovers, who've tasted defeat just once in their last 20 league games and boast an impressive home record themselves. Their only loss at the Memorial Stadium came in mid-October, to Forest Green Rovers.

It's highly likely Macc will head for the Gas without on-loan centre-back Liam Hogan, who limped out of the Boxing Day match with a foot problem. With Will Haining and Paul Lewis still not ready to return Macc can barely afford any more injuries.

 

“Liam has felt his foot for a week or two now and he's gone over on it today so we'll see how he is, but I thought Alex (Grant) came in and defended well, so luckily we're OK for Bristol Rovers if Liam isn't fit,” added Askey who, despite Friday's loss has somehow led his cut-price side to the upper reaches of the Conference table.

“The problem we've got is that we're not able to bring players in and we're down to the bare bones. Everybody who was available was either playing or on the bench – I don't suppose that's the case for Grimsby or Barnet, or anyone all the way down. That's the frustrating part, not being able to invest in players in the position we're in.

“The budget's very tight as we all know and the club won't spend money it hasn't got, which is sensible. We'll get on with it but the players need a helping hand at the moment. They give everything they've got, hopefully we won't get too many injuries and they can continue to do that.

“We don't really need to pick them up because we're still in third position, to say that on Boxing Day is still quite a nice feeling.”