PICKERING Town are going into every game expecting to win in the Northern Counties East League premier division.

Ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Parkgate, the Pikes are unbeaten in their last four games - all at home - and have risen to ninth place.

Athersley Recreation proved that nothing can be taken for granted however as they equalised in the 85th minute through Declan Welford to leave the Recreation Ground with a 1-1 draw.

Manager Paul Marshall urged his team to match the desire of struggling sides, saying: “I think we got frustrated as we hadn’t taken our second goal.

“To be fair to Athersley, they had a good go at us in the second half and we probably thought we’d seen the game out.

“I said at half-time, if you give teams that are fighting for survival a half-chance, they will take it. They duly did because we never killed the game off.”

“Parkgate are also scrapping for their lives, it’s very tight down there with three going down this year.

“They will look at us, in mid-table, as a team they might take points off.”

Pickering will be bolstered by the return of Ryan Cooper from suspension tomorrow, although Matty Turnbull is unavailable. New signing Liam Shepherd will also be in contention for a start.

The former Tadcaster Albion boss is delighted with the depth of his squad and could alter things against Parkgate, who have won just one of their last six games - a 3-0 defeat of Athersley Recreation.

Marshall added: “We’ve got a strong squad of players now, as strong as we’ve been all year.

“We’re going into every game expecting to win nowadays with the team we’ve got.

“I think we’ll change things round a bit” he added. “The lads have done well but we might just need to freshen up.

“I think we miss Cooper’s energy in midfield so he’ll probably come straight back in.”

The goal tallies of midfielders Cooper, Lewis Taylor and Ged Dalton, as well as defender Joe Danby, have all passed double figures in recent weeks. While he recognises the contribution of goals from all over the field, the Recreation Ground chief is particularly pleased by the form of frontman Calum Ward.

“Calum has had a stop-start season with injuries and his suspension.” Marshall said. “He’s a confidence player and he’s got four in four now so hopefully he can keep that going.

“People were doubting him but he’s been strong and come back to score the goals.

“We’ve got goals up front from Calum and from midfield through Ged, Ryan and Lewis. They’re all in double figures which is a good effort.”

The competitive nature of the league encouraged Marshall that his team can climb the table: “We’re obviously looking to improve on ninth.

“Last year, there were a lot of teams better than others but this year anyone can beat anyone.”

Marshall confidently stated his aims for the rest of the season: “I’d like to get to seventh at least, or sixth” he stated. “I think that’s not beyond the realms of what we’ve got here.”