Carlisle City are looking at a hectic second half of the season with several mid-week games to be fitted in.
A series of postponements have restricted City to just 16 fixtures so far which leaves them 22 to fit in over the last 16 weeks of the season.
The home game at the week-end against bottom-of-the-table Tow Low was the latest casualty as the Gillford Park pitch was very soft and considered unsafe and unplayable.
Manager Jim Nichols said: “We haven’t played a lot recently so the League fixtures have stacked up and it’s going to mean a very busy finish to the season.
“We are targeting a top five finish and that is still very much within our capabilities. All the postponed games have been re-arranged and January could be a key month for us.
“We have Whitley Bay twice and Heaton Stannington at home, both teams in and around us. As we also have the bottom two Sunderland RCA and Tow Low to fit in this month a good points haul could see us consolidate our position.”
City actually travel to Whitley Bay (beaten at Penrith on Saturday) this Friday night after “agreeing a deal” with their opponents.
“It’s Sunderland v Newcastle this Saturday in the FA Cup and Whitley Bay don’t think they will have anyone watching, so they asked us if we would change to the Friday night.
“We agreed as long as they would do the same and come to our place on a Friday night which they have agreed to so we play them at home on the 19th.
“Those are going to be two big games are we are on the same number of points and we have a game in hand.
“Tom Mahone has served his suspension and will be available for Friday when we should virtually have a full squad to pick from. I have several videos of Whitley Bay in games so have plenty to go on,” said Nichols.
