PAUL Carden says Warrington Town must not “neglect” the momentum gained from the FA Trophy win at Altrincham as they enter a tricky Christmas period.

Jamie McDonald scored an injury-time winner for Yellows at Moss Lane on Tuesday as they became the first side to beat the Robins since September.

They now face two games this week, hosting Coalville Town on Saturday before travelling to near neighbours Witton Albion on Boxing Day.

Those two fixtures are part of an arduous run of four games in nine days, but Carden has called on his players to let the Altrincham result “propel them” into the new year.

“Going into the Christmas period on the back of the Altrincham game, we have to make sure we don’t neglect it,” he said.

“We have to grasp it, take everything out of it we can and make sure it propels us for the second half of the season.

“We’ve got a good gang of lads in there. There’s some good players in there and when we believe in ourselves and one another, we’re a match for anyone.

“We’ve had a couple of big knocks against Stourbridge and Shaw Lane, but we’ve just gone toe-to-toe with the big hitters of the league and we were a match for them.”

Reinforcements are still thin on the ground for Yellows, with Adam Carden struggling with a hip injury and Jack Higgins serving the final game of a suspension on Saturday.

Shaun Beeley (broken leg) is closer to returning, but Carden says they will not be able to call upon him until after Christmas.

The Town boss says he is working on bringing players in to bolster the squad, but he says working with a smaller group has its advantages.

“I still think we’re a bit light. We don’t have an embarrassment of riches,” he said.

“We’ll go out and we’ll strengthen in the right places. We’ve spoken about bringing a couple more in and we do need it for this period coming up.

“Shaun Beeley is edging closer, it’s probably still a little bit soon for him. We’re hoping to have him back in the next couple of weeks.

“We’ve probably left ourselves a little bit stretched by letting lads go, but sometimes it can bring a group closer.

“Because it’s a smaller group, it’s easier to get that togetherness you need.”

Their progress in the FA Trophy has earned Yellows a second-round trip to National League side Ebbsfleet United.

The game looks set to be played on Saturday, January 13, and will involve a 400-mile round trip to Kent for Warrington and their supporters.

Carden says the prospect of being reunited with Fleet boss and former teammate Darryl McMahon gives the game an extra edge.

“I know Darryl McMahon very well, we signed him when I was player-assistant manager at Cambridge,” he said.

“He was an excellent footballer and was a delight to play with because he kept the ball.

“When I’ve seen his teams play, they like to keep hold of the ball like he did. I know he’ll have them playing football.

“They’re not the biggest club in the National League, but they pay well and they have a good, strong squad.

“We just keep going, we want to do well in everything and if that means us playing more games, so be it.”