"I was disappointed to lose the Bishop Auckland game as I thought the longer the game went on, particularly in the second half, we were the better side.

"When we scored through Ricky Mercer I felt there was only going to be one team in it.

"Dene Whittal-Williams will hold his hand up for the mistake for their second goal, but to be fair to Dene he has only made a couple of mistakes all season so we are not being too critical of that.

"The goal still had to be finished and it was a good header from the cross which came too late for us to respond.

"I wasn't too disappointed at going out of the competition as it has been a bit of a nuisance to us as our goal all season has to been to get into the play-offs. Now we are free of all cup distractions that goal remains.

"Lee Ashcroft has responded well to treatment and looks like being available this weekend. We did miss his presence and that of Kenny Mayers on Saturday. They give the little bit of quality that I thought we lacked on Saturday.

"It will nice to have Lee back against Shepshed and Kenny free of suspension for the game the following week.

"We are heading a pack of eight or nine sides with only a few points between them and we are under no illusions.

"Although we are well placed in sixth, two or three indifferent results would see us plummet, but we are determined to kick on for the last third of the season and there is a happy and determined mood in the camp.

"Shepshed will be a tough game for although we won there three weeks ago it was a difficult game on a difficult pitch and they are a good footballing side who will enjoy playing on our pitch.

"Paul McMenemy who picked up a bad gash on his shin in training the previous week will also be back in contention this weekend."