There's no time to dwell on Tuesday's win for Macclesfield Town and their manager, John Askey.

Macc's tremendous home run continued with victory over Torquay United, their eighth success at the Moss Rose brought about by Danny Whitaker's goal.

But that's history now - attention's turned to their visit to table-topping Barnet.

Macc have already beaten the Bees. Last month Scott Barrow and Chris Holroyd netted in a 2-1 win, the London side's first defeat on the road.

But even though the last three meetings have all ended in wins for Macc it's far from a foregone conclusion at The Hive, as Martin Allen's men have led the league since late August and currently sit four points clear of Grimsby Town, with the Silkmen a further point behind.

"For us to get a win against Torquay is fantastic," said Askey, who's led his side to third place, thanks in no small measure to that fabulous record of eight wins and four draws from 12 games at the Moss Rose.

"For us to be in the position we're in, with players on non-contract, players on loan and players playing for nothing is remarkable. They're fantastic as a group of people, it's their honesty that's getting us results. The supporters have got players to be proud of, full credit to them. I can't say enough about them and long may it continue."

John Askey and Efe Sodje have worked wonders at Macclesfield
 

"All we'll worry about now is Saturday's game – the Torquay game is gone, we'll enjoy it for a few days then put everything into the Barnet game and if we get something that's great, if we don't it's not the end of the world, we'll not get carried away.

"If we do get something from Barnet it'll be a bonus. I thought the Torquay game would be really tough and it was.

"I sometimes wonder how it's happened but it has. We're all going home with smiles on our faces and everybody in the town's talking about us."

Although disappointed that Matthew Barnes-Homer was recalled to Whitehawk by Steve King, his predecessor at Macc, Askey has taken steps to add some bulk up front. He's captured 19-year-old striker Denny Johnstone on loan until Christmas Eve from Birmingham City.

Meanwhile, another loan signing, Stoke's Alex Grant, continues to impress in the blue shirt. Macc are certainly benefiting from having Grant and his Stoke City colleague Adam Thomas in the squad, but the boss is sure they'll also feel the positives from their stint in East Cheshire.

"Alex has done really well again, he showed good aggression. I think it's done him good, coming to us and playing alongside George (Pilkington). I think he's realising now that it's not always about playing pretty football, you have to just head it and kick it at times and get stuck in, so he'll be a better player for it - he's another who's showed a lot of honesty and he's got ability to go with it."

Last season Danny Whitaker hit the goal of the season against Barnet

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Further forward, the second-half strike by Wilmslow's Whitaker was yet more proof that the star midfielder is getting ever-nearer to his best, following a back injury that saw him miss two-and-a-half months of match action.

"It was a good finish from Danny, we expect him to weigh in with double figures, obviously he's not been 100 per cent fit but the more he plays the better he gets," continued the manager. "I thought that was his best game against Torquay, he and Bully did really well.

"Having a fully-fit Danny Whitaker will give us all an extra push as well. He's always struck a good ball, he practices after training every day, he has done from being a kid. It's only through one or two injuries he hasn't got more goals this season, but he strikes a ball as well as anybody."