SEVEN wins out of the last ten games to take the Northern Counties East League premier division title.

That is the target Goole manager Paul Marshall has set his side with the promotion race still wide open.

Goole are currently second, two points behind neighbours Selby Town with a game in hand, and are perfectly placed for the run-in.

And Marshall believes that 21 points will do it.

He said: "It's still very tight in the top five with teams like Pickering and Sheffield - who were both favourites - dropping a few points.

"We've got ten games left and I think seven wins will win the league."

Tomorrow's match at Eccleshill United is looking doubtful with the pitch difficult even in good weather, but if it does go ahead, Marshall is hopeful Pat Gaughan will be good to play after pulling a hamstring in the warm-up to last week's 4-0 defeat of Buxton.

It will also give experienced keeper Chris Hill the chance to go for a fourth consecutive clean sheet after an impressive run.

The game of the weekend is scheduled at Sheffield where leaders Selby Town will be hoping to stifle the challenge of their third-placed hosts.

Pickering Town, meanwhile, will be hoping to avoid a slip-up against lowly Armthorpe Welfare in their bid to close the gap on the top four.

Harrogate Railway have been left counting their blessings after a post-Christmas dip in form has been matched by the rest of the top five with several teams losing ground.

Manager Martin Haresign is now hoping the win they ground out last week against Glasshoughton Welfare will turn the corner for them as they prepare to travel to Arnold Town - one of an astonishing 11 away games left this season.

But they will be without Andy Shuttleworth, Damien Holmes and Robbie Whellans. Shuttleworth is definitely out for the rest of the season. He had surgery on his smashed eye socket last week, when bone from another part of his head was grafted in.

Holmes has a nasty hamstring pull and is looking at another three to four weeks on the sidelines, while Whellans has had the plaster taken off his broken foot but is unlikely to feature until later in the run-in.

Liam Gray, though, has done well in place of Shuttleworth, and Ryan Haigh has slotted in for Holmes at right-back.

Tadcaster Albion will leave a decision on the pitch until the last minute, but boss Jim Collis is hoping their division one match against Staveley will be on.

Left-back Matt Cressey starts a 42-day blanket suspension on Monday - reduced from an exaggerated 84-day initial ban - and will miss at least eight games if he cannot play on Saturday.

Harrogate Town have a free weekend courtesy of Runcorn FC Halton's continued run in the FA Trophy.

Updated: 11:14 Friday, February 25, 2005