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Saturday's Blue Square North Preview

The Blue Square North looks set to resume this weekend after abject weather conditions has seen a number of postponements over the last month or so.

Just one match has been called off at this stage with Stalybridge's tie against Harrogate Town set for rescheduling.

Fleetwood Town's match against Ilkeston Town, that was previously in doubt will now go ahead with The Fleet hosting The Robins. Ilkeston have agreed to host their home game later in the season as the clubs have not met yet.

League leaders Southport travel to mid-table Gloucester, hoping to extend their lead at the top of the table. The Sandgrounders were last in action against Fleetwood Town on the 1st of January in a match they lost 4-0. Gloucester, meanwhile were 2-0 victors over Redditch in their last game, but with such a long break it remains to be seen whether past form will have a bearing on the tie.

The last time the two sides met, Southport emerged 3-2 winners and manager Liam Watson is confident of a result after watching them in action. He told the Southport Visiter : "I went to watch them against Stalybridge the other week and they should have been two or three up early on but ended up getting beat 4-1. That probably tells you about their problems this season in conceding goals."

Hinckley United welcome Corby to Marston's Stadium as they look to extend their eight-game unbeaten run in the league which has seen them move into third place.

Corby are just one point off the play-off places and will need to find some consistency if they are to be there and there abouts come the end of the season.

Fourth-placed Eastwood Town are the visitors to Northwich this weekend in what will be a scramble for points for two different reasons. Three teams are within reach of Eastwood's play-off spot while at the other end of the table, Northwich are just one point clear of the relegation zone.

Only five teams are worse off than Andy Preece's side with bottom of the table Vauxhall Motors travelling to Blyth Spartans, and 20th-placed Hyde the visitors to Solihull Moors this weekend.

Vauxhall are five points worse off than Hyde and on the same points as Harrogate Town, who are not in action.

Elsewhere, fifth-placed Droylsden will be looking to secure their play-off spot with the visit of Redditch. The Reds were in fine form before their enforced break and will be looking to pick that up again, against a struggling Redditch side.

Moving down the table sees eighth-placed Alfreton Town take on 11th-placed Workington. Just four spots separate the two sides but a massive 10 points mean that Workington have no realistic chance, at this stage, of a play-off place come the end of the season, although they are also not in any danger of the relegation zone.

In the other matches, AFC Telford host Farsley Celtic and Gainsborough take on Stafford Rangers.

It is unclear if the Telford and Celtic match will go ahead with Celts boss Neil Parsley responding to queries about whether the match will go ahead.

He told the Advertiser: "No, not after speaking to Telford.

"They told me on Wednesday that there was a new covering of five inches of snow on their pitch. I would say it is 99.5 per cent certain that it will be off."

Gainsborough boss Brian Little is looking forward to getting back to action, having not featured since their 2-2 draw at Corby on Boxing Day.

He told The Sports Echo: "I've never known anything like this in the last 10 to 15 years. When matches at the top of the game (the Premier League) are being called off, it shows how extreme the weather has been.

"Back when I was playing we used to play on top of the snow, but with health and safety issues, including that of fans getting to games, that has changed.

"But we're hopeful the game will be on and we're doing everything we can to make sure it is.

"When we do play, it will be like starting a new season. Everyone - players, managers and fans - will be excited.

"It's like starting over and it will be interesting how everyone deals with it. But we're itching to get going again."

All the fixtures in full:

AFC Telford v Farsley Celtic

Alfreton Town v Workington

Blyth Spartans v Vauxhall Motors

Gainsborough v Stafford Rangers

Gloucester v Southport

Hinckley Utd v Corby

Northwich v Eastwood Town

Redditch v Droylsden

Solihull Moors v Hyde

Fleetwood Town v Ilkeston Town

Stalybridge P-P Harrogate Town