WINSFORD United manager Dalton Steele was pleased with the point his side brought back from Gainsborough on Saturday, despite not converting their pressure into goals.

"We have more points than we had at this time last year," said Steele, "but we should have finished them off. It was one-way traffic and they never had a shot.

"Steele and Shaughnessy both did well but should have scored. We had chances and didn't take them, but I took heart from a lot of things."

Although Steele is still searching for a striker to intensify competition in his squad, he is keeping his options open to some of the younger faces at the club.

He said: "I want to give it a month with a couple of younger players to see how they develop, like Nathaniel Barnes. He's a good player but still needs to acclimatise."

Tony Shields, released by Bradford City in the summer, is the other youngster Steele has brought in to develop, but he may need more experience to boost his forward line.

He added: "We're still a striker short. One more player will give competition throughout the team, but once Nathan Peel is fit I'll still have three good strikers to choose from."

After last night's Altrincham encounter, Winsford's next UniBond Premier game is at home to Leigh on Saturday.

This is followed by another testing trip on Bank Holiday Monday to Stalybridge Celtic, who are looking to bounce straight back into the Conference after last season's relegation.

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