Knaresborough Town setting their sights on the higher echelons of the NCEL Premier Division

The Manse Lane outfit made a slow start to the season, losing all of their opening three league matches, but things have subsequently started to come together for Simon Parkes and his men.

Having broken into the top half of the division after a run of just one defeat in five matches, the postponement of Tuesday’s clash with AFC Emley due to a waterlogged pitch denied Boro the opportunity to build on the four points they had taken from their two previous outings.

A last-minute Ben Parkes goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Golcar United prior to last week’s 1-1 draw with Thackley, those results sufficient to elevate Town to ninth place.

And, having seen his side get the better of some of the division’s high-flyers already this term, Parkes is confident that Knaresborough can continue their ascent up the league.

"We’re very happy with how things are progressing, one defeat in our last five games has left us in a pretty strong position in the table,” the Boro boss said.

"We obviously didn’t have the best start to the season and when we were down in the bottom three or four, the objective was just to try and get into the top half.

"Now we just need to keep going, continue doing what we have been doing and look to push on as high up the league as we can.

"We have shown when we have beaten the likes of Barton Town, Garforth and Handsworth – who are all right up there in that top eight – that we can compete with the best teams in this division, in fact I think that we raise our game and play better football.

"We are certainly creating a lot more chances, which is something we’ve worked on a lot on the training ground, and the lads just need to keep it up.”

Boro return to action on Saturday afternoon when they entertain 11th-placed Albion Sports at Manse Lane (3pm).