AFC Fylde boss Jim Bentley has seen his side go toe-to-toe with three of the in-form teams in the division in the last week, but knows the points tally could have been higher.

After draws against Yeovil and Barrow, the Coasters lost 2-1 at home to Stockport County in a game where plenty of chances went begging for Fylde in the first half.

Despite the disappointing result though, Bentley knows that the Coasters need to remain positive and believe in themselves.

“We’ve created more than enough to win the Yeovil and Barrow games, and created more chances than Stockport did – so we have to remain confident,” he said.

“As a team we’re creating chances but we can’t keep saying it’s going to turn, we need to be the ones to make it happen.”

After a pulsating Boxing Day clash at Holker Street with Barrow, attention now switches to Mill Farm, as the two sides face off in a New Year’s Day clash.

The Coasters will hope to continue their brilliant record against the Bluebirds, but Bentley knows it will be tough.

“They’ve got players in-form, Rooney’s doing well, Quigley’s doing well, they’re scoring goals, and that’s the difference,” said Bentley.

“That’s the margin in football, they’re taking these chances and we aren’t, and that’s why they’re top, and we’re in a relegation battle.”

“We have to make sure we aspire to be like that, we saw Barrow go to ten men and then react with Quigley’s goal, which makes it a lot more difficult.”

The Barrow clash marks the start of six games in January, with an FA Cup trip to Sheffield United awaiting this weekend.

Before that though, Bentley is keen to ensure his Coasters side can find their cutting edge against the league leaders.

“We remain positive and we come into this game against Barrow to get this all important win to kick us on.”

“We’ve got a brilliant game here to start the new year off, a tough one, but we need to make sure we keep doing what we’re doing.”

“Offensively, we need to put our chances away, but at the back we need to be a bit more cute – football is about learning and finding a way, and we need to do that as soon as possible.”

Tickets for the clash with Barrow can be bought both in the Club Shop at Mill Farm, and online at tickets.afcfylde.co.uk