Depleted Magpies have hit first mini bump in the road as they prepare for busy month of fixtures

The Magpies were within touching distance of the top of the National League North until they suffered a shock 5-0 loss at Rushall Olympic.

A few days later they bounced back with a 2-1 win over South Shields at Victory Park although Preece felt his men were fortuitous to come away with all three points.

And on Saturday, a below-par first-half performance contributed to a disappointing 2-1 reverse at Hereford.

Chorley have slipped to ninth in the table, although they are still only a point outside the top seven.

However, with a number of midweek games scheduled for this month, Preece knows his small squad will be stretched to the limit in the coming weeks.

"We have talked before about the squad depth and whether it can handle a few injuries,” said Preece.

"Obviously we have picked up injuries to Jack Hazlehurst and Scott Wilson and so that puts extra workload on players.

"They restrict your options a little bit. I think the absence of those two has probably had an effect on us.

"It was a good result against South Shields although to be fair we were fortunate to win that game.

"Saturday against Hereford, I don’t think there was too much in the game but it certainly was not at the level of how we have played in previous games.

"I guess you could call it a mini blip.”

Preece is hopeful of having both Hazlehurst and Wilson back soon. He did receive a boost this week with the news that Jack Moore has extended his loan spell from Blackpool until January.

"We're absolutely delighted to have been able to get this deal over the line to keep Jack for an extended period."Jack has been brilliant for us since he's come back in a second time and our supporters will have been able to see some of the qualities he possesses in the full-back positions.“I'd like to personally thank Blackpool for their help in allowing Jack to continue his spell with Chorley."

Meanwhile, this weekend’s trip to Banbury United has been called off due to a waterlogged pitch.