Chester FC manager Marcus Bignot says the task of remaining a National League side beyond this season is about to get even tougher.
Bignot’s side were denied all three points at fellow strugglers Guiseley on New Year’s Day as Ash Palmer fired home through a sea of bodies with the last kick of the game to cancel out Kingsley James’ goal on the hour mark in a 1-1 draw.
It was rough on the Blues after a much better showing than in their previous two games but a dejected Bignot said that things would be even more difficult moving forward with loan players returning to their parent clubs and replacements unable to be brought in.
Reece Hall-Johnson, Sam Hornby, Nyal Bell, Myles Anderson and Daniel Udoh are all set to return to their parent clubs before the end of the month, with their departures set to open to the door to some of Chester’s young players.
“We’ll be losing players in January in terms of loan players going back,” said Bignot.
“The players we’ll be looking to will be our youngsters - a Matty Waters and a Tom Crawford. That’s where we are.
“You will probably see an unrecognisable Guiseley team in a couple of weeks, you will see Solihull Moors go into the market as well.
“There is enough in that dressing room (to get out of trouble) but each week it gets harder and harder.
“It is what it is. That is the situation we are facing and that is what it is. It is important we got our youngsters out on loan with them coming back in to help us in what is going to be a very difficult season for us.
"People have a perception of Chester as a club but the reality will be in January, you’ll see.
“The sooner everybody realises the situation we face and we all pull together we’ll have more performances like today (Guiseley) but hopefully more rub of the green.”
Yesterday’s draw with Guiseley saw Chester slip to 22nd in the National League, eight points off safety with two games in hand on Barrow in 20th position.
When asked whether there was any scope for some of the loanees to stay and whether any other avenues of finance could help keep them at the club for the relegation run-in, Bignot said: “I’ve got to follow a remit and I’m concentrating on these boys. These are the players we’ve got. Although we are hugely disappointed there is a lot of positives to take into a game away on Saturday now (at Ebbsfleet).
“Let’s all pull together now because we have got a cause to stay in this league and we are only going to do that by being together. We want to remain a National League club.”
