​Banbury hope to get back in action

​Postponements in recent weeks – including the original game with King’s Lynn – have left the Puritans without a game since the 1-1 draw with Curzon Ashton on November 25.

Tuesday’s game was played after this week’s Guardian went to press, but speaking to Puritans Radio last week ahead of what was another postponed game at home to Darlington, boss Mark Jones said he’s tried to use the free time effectively.

He said: "We used the time to train and to try and reflect on the opening 19 games of the season, and my staff and I have been out trying to watch games as well.

"We’ve looked at things we need to do better as a group to give ourselves a chance of picking up more points.

"One of the positives has been players recovering from injuries, although unfortunately the two suspensions we had for Jack Davies and Aidan Elliott-Wheeler roll over to whenever we next play.”

Jones has recruited Harley Giles to his midfield (see page 39) but has otherwise struggled to get more numbers in.

He said: "It’s tough at this time of year to bring players in. I’ve spoken to a couple of National League managers and because of the amount of games coming up, those at a higher level are reluctant to let players out on loan just in case they’re needed.

"We play a lot of games now over the next two weeks, so we have to make sure our squad is strong enough to cope with that amount of games, and it’s a bit of a challenge to get the players in that we’ve highlighted as ones we might be able to work with.”

After the King’s Lynn game, Banbury have two home games against Farsley Celtic on Saturday and then Chorley on Tuesday, with Jones keen to see form improve on their own patch.

He said: "The crowds are down a bit this year and our home form needs to improve to give the fans a bit more to cheer about. We have to make it somewhere the fans enjoy watching us play and see us win.”