PAUL Carden says recent performances show his Warrington Town players are “desperate” to achieve something this season.

Second-placed Yellows have taken advantage of recent slip-ups by Evo-Stik Premier Division leaders Altrincham and are now just one point behind them.

Town made the most of playing two home games this week as they beat Hednesford 4-1 on Tuesday night after a 2-1 win over Grantham Town on Saturday.

They will look to extend their unbeaten league run to seven games today when they travel to Stalybridge Celtic, kick-off 3pm.

Their hosts have not lost in eight matches themselves, including a 1-0 win over Town at Cantilever Park last month.

However, Carden says he trusts his players to remain calm in an increasingly tight title-race.

“I think Brett, our physio, used a couple of boxes of Ibuprofen before the Hednesford game,” he said.

“The lads are desperate to do something this year and the performances are showing that.

“All the games are tough and they all present their own challenges.

“I’m not going to ask the lads to change anything. I won’t ask them to go away from what they’re doing because they’ve been superb.

“It’s up to us now to maintain this. The belief has always been there that we can catch Altrincham.

“I keep saying it though, all we can do is concentrate on ourselves and not worry about others.

“We just have to win as many games as we can, keep picking up points and see where we finish.

“We want to others to worry about us, not the other way round.”

Following today’s trip to Bower Fold, Yellows return to Cantilever Park on Tuesday night as they host Workington, kick-off 7.45pm.

Top-scorer Jamie McDonald missed the Hednesford victory with a hamstring injury, but Carden says he expects him to be available for Saturday’s game.

He said the alternative options available to him made him comfortable with giving McDonald more time to recover.

“Jamie’s injury isn’t really serious. He should be back for Saturday,” he said.

“There was no real point in risking him too much when we’ve got good lads to go in.

“They weren’t just covering as well. They went in there and carried the baton on.”