Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
Simon Parkes is backing his Knaresborough Town players to achieve a top ten finish this season.
Knaresborough sit tenth just past the halfway stage of the campaign and Parkes feels his men are well-placed to meet his targets.
“I think it would be huge for the club (to get into the top ten),” Parkes told Non League Yorkshire.
“The chairman and the committee were very clear with the objective and it was essentially to maintain our league status.
“Because of the high standards I have, (a relegation battle is) not where I wanted to be. I want to be challenging at the right end of the table.
“Undoubtably I do feel we will be a top ten team at the end of the season.
“I think if we can keep going and mirror what we did in the first half of the season and or better it then there’s no doubt we will be a top ten team.
“I think we have got stronger and better individually as a team.
“There’s a lot of strong teams in and around us who will be pushing for the same objectives.
“We just have to keep going.”
Knaresborough – who travel to Hemsworth Miners Welfare tomorrow – can chart their progress by looking back at where they were last season.
Injuries caused mayhem for them and they struggled to get to 40 points.
But in 2023, Town already have 32 points.
“We’re just over the halfway stage and we have almost the same amount of points we got last season and it kind of shows where we are as a team and how we are growing,” Parkes said.
“I certainly believe we are a team which is structured and got the ability to be pushing, certainly, to be a top ten team and ability to be challenging at the right end of the table.
“The difference to last year was that it was very much a relegation battle.
“The objectives were very different.
“I certainly think we are challenging the top sides in the league.
“We beat Silsden last week and they are a team pushing for that play-offs spot.
“It is certainly going to be a tough ask to break into that mould because if you look at the top seven and above they have made a movement away (from a points point of view).
“We’re looking to kick on with a strong January.”