IAN Street praised his players’ determination after they extended an unbeaten start to 2017, claiming they are positioned perfectly for the biggest game of their season.

A 4-1 win against Squires Gate on Saturday is their fifth in the past half-dozen matches, propelling them to second spot in the North West Counties League’s top-flight.

Atherton Collieries, their hosts next weekend, will take back the position if they avoid defeat at home to leaders Bootle tomorrow.

“We’re exactly where we’d want to be,” said the 1874 Northwich manager.

“It would have been a travesty not to have collected three points and then beat Colls – we needed to stay on a roll, and we have done.

“If I was being ultra-critical, then perhaps it should be six wins in a row when you remember we threw away a lead at Maine Road.

“But that would be harsh, I think.

“I’ve no complaints at all about how we’ve reacted to losing the way we did on Boxing Day.”

He told the Guardian that successive home wins against Ashton Athletic (1-0), Hanley (1-0), Barnoldswick (2-0) and Squires Gate are proof of his side’s mental strength.

All four victories have had to be ground out.

“We’d have slipped up in one of those in the past, but that’s the old 1874.

“These lads think differently now, and we’re more demanding of them too.

“It’s no good being what we call ‘training ground players’, because that’s easy.

"They’ve done the business so far when it matters.”

He said a victory against Squires Gate, which avenges a defeat by the same score against the same opponents back in August, was more difficult than the result suggests.

However a rare goal from midfielder Lee Jones midway through the second half, which made it 3-1, ended the visitors’ resistance.

Street said: “I was annoyed we didn’t kick on after taking the lead in the first minute.

“We got an early goal, something we don’t do often, but it didn’t lead to anything.

“If anything, them scoring before half-time helped us because it reminded the players they had to be careful.

“They’d started to look like they wanted to coast.”

Tom Bailey swept in Joe Woolley’s cross to put 1874 ahead inside 30 seconds, the fastest goal in the club’s short history.

Jason Carey, with his first strike since switching from AFC Liverpool last month, then made it 2-0 before Brett Dawson halved the visitors’ arrears following a counter-attack.

Jones then met Sam Hare’s centre with a volley before Bailey, after Carey had been tripped by goalkeeper Joe Griffith, completed the scoring with a penalty.