RAMSBOTTOM'S joint manager Jimmy Clarke believes the club is going in the right direction, at the right time.

The Riverside outfit are second from bottom in the NWC Division One, two points behind Atherton LR with three games in hand.

But while Clarke, who shares the managerial duties with Andy Grimshaw, would much prefer the points in the bag, he admits there is more optimism around Ramsbottom these days.

A 3-1 win at Winsford Town last week extended their unbeaten run to three league games for the first time this season.

Winsford travel to Ramsbottom this weekend in search of revenge, but Clarke is confident his side will cope.

"We've got three good results under our belt now, and we had a great performance on Saturday," he said.

"Our defence was rock solid, our midfield worked hard, as did our front lads. So we're going in the right direction.

"Hopefully we can continue this run, weather permitting. We had a midweek game postponed, which was a shame because it would have been good to have the chance to keep the momentum going.

"The forecast isn't good for the weekend but we'll keep our fingers crossed that the game goes ahead, because games like these against Winsford are the ones we need to be picking up maximum points from.

"We will be wary of them, because they have a good front two, but we know what they are about and we know how to beat them because we did it last Saturday."

Ramsbottom have a fully fit squad to choose from, and sweeper Mark Brown is expected to return this weekend after missing last week's win.