Chorley squad is at full stretch for visit of Blyth Spartans this weekend

The Magpies have been missing a number of key individuals in recent weeks which has slightly hampered their progress.

Over the last four games, Chorley have had mixed results. Wins over Southport and Chester have been tempered by losses to Darlington and Spennymoor Town.

Despite that, they remain in a strong position in fifth spot but Vermiglio knows the strength of his squad will be tested as due to postponements, they have 13 games to squeeze in between now and the end of the campaign.

He will be hoping to have better news from the treatment room for the final couple of months of the campaign.

"The last few games have not been ideal for us,” said Vermiglio. “We have fallen a little bit behind where we want to be in terms of averaging 1.9 to two points per game.

"But we have only got a small squad, we have had injuries and when you’re having to play Saturday-Tuesday, it is tough especially when you have only got 13 or 14 players available.

"The fact of the matter is that we have got players who are playing every week and we can’t really afford to change that.”

The players who are currently injured are Adam Blakeman (hamstring) and Harvey Smith (groin), while long-term absentee Adam Henley could return to the fold over the next couple of weeks.

Vermiglio also revealed that a number of his men are carrying knocks and playing through the pain barrier.

The fact that Chorley have not had a midweek game will have helped his players’ recovery with the home game against Blyth Spartans to come this weekend.

The North East outfit are struggling at the lower end of the table but Vermiglio said: "We know when we have been near the bottom particularly in the season when we were in the division above that we went into every game believing that we could win.

"Although we did not get many wins, we still caused a lot of problems for other teams. Blyth are actually a good footballing team.”

Elsewhere, Fylde take on Alfreton at home while Southport host York City at Haig Avenue.

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