Warrington Town manager previews Scunthorpe United trip

However, manage Mark Beesley has called upon his players to relish taking on perhaps the biggest test the National League North has to offer on Saturday.

After a run of four consecutive home fixtures yielded a below-par return of four points, Yellows are back on the road at the weekend to face early pace-setters Scunthorpe United.

The Iron have solidified their status as promotion favourites with an unbeaten start to the season, winning six or their seven matches and conceding just one goal in the process.

As he prepares to take his young, injury-hit squad to Glanford Park, Beesley says he wants to see his players use the big stage to show what they can do.

“I don’t think it’s a free hit, but they will obviously be overwhelming favourites,” he said.

“They’re the biggest club in this league by far, they’re top of the league, scoring goals and not conceding many.

“They’re full-time footballers so they will be expected to beat us – they will get the chance to rest while our lads are in work.

“We’ve got to go there and embrace it – in this league, you’re going to face big clubs.

“It’s a good opportunity for us to go there and showcase what we have on a big stage.”

Town put in an impressive display when they last visited Glanford Park last November but succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to Scunthorpe (Image: Sean Walsh)

Town head to Lincolnshire having come from behind to draw 1-1 with Leamington on Tuesday night, with Josh Miles on the scoresheet just after half time.

That followed Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Needham Market as their run of home fixtures ended in disappointing fashion having started with an impressive victory over well-fancied Kidderminster Harriers on August 24.

Beesley admits there is plenty to work on for his side, but his paper-thin squad looks set to be boosted in the near future by returns to contention for several players following injuries.

While veteran Peter Clarke (knee) is a long-term absentee, his fellow defenders Ollie Southern (Achilles) and Murphy Bennett (hamstring) and midfielder Jay Harris (groin) could all be in contention for this weekend, while captain Josh Amis is also nearing fitness following off-season shoulder surgery.

“If you look back on the four games, we’ve picked up four points which isn’t what we want – we certainly targeted more,” Beesley said.

“We’ve had some anomalies – Dan (Atherton) makes a couple of mistakes against Farsley that he doesn’t normally make, then on Saturday we weren’t at our best but could have nicked something.

“On Tuesday, we showed character to come back and get a point. There’s a lot of things to work on.

“We’ve got a couple who should be back for Saturday, if not they will definitely be back the week after. That’s good news as it gives us some extra options.”