Midfielder Ben Atkinson is relishing his second spell at Farsley Celtic and is looking to help propel the Celts into the top half of the table.

Ahead of tomorrow’s clash at Chorley, Ben has his sight set on the playoffs and is aiming to make the most of his return to The Citadel.

“Chorley will be a tough game,” said Ben. “They’re a good side who are always in and around the play offs. But at the end of the day we need to concentrate on ourselves, we have been playing well and we have shown this season that we don’t have to fear anyone in this league.”

So what’s changed at the club since Ben’s first spell here?

“It’s obviously got a lot of similarities – it’s always been a tightly knit family club and it’s got a lot of good people doing things around the club,” said Ben. “I do feel expectations are higher than in previous seasons. We want to be looking up and not down and we want to be pushing up that table.”

Ben was part of the team who won promotion to National League North in 2019. “Most teams when they first go up aim to stay in the division, we’re now at a stage where we need to kick on,” he added.

“Obviously we are in mid-table at the moment – we will be aiming to string together some results to push us up that table. I genuinely belief we should be challenging for the playoffs. It’s a funny league, if you can pick up a good run of results you can soon climb the table.

“If we stay together and stay focused, there’s no reason why we can’t do that. We’ve a good squad and there’s competition for places.”

Ben is top scorer for the Celts this season. “There are a few penalties in that total,” he says modestly. “But they all count I guess. My aim is to just keep playing and helping the team, hopefully climb the league table and push for the play offs.”