JAMES Foley says Witton Albion are still adjusting to life in the Northern Premier League’s top-flight but believes their recent results are proof they have no reason to fear anyone.

They won 3-2 at Matlock Town last Saturday, a game they started eight points adrift of a promotion play-offs place.

After losing only one of their past nine Premier Division fixtures, a run that included meetings with six of the top-seven teams in the table, Carl Macauley’s men travelled to Derbyshire in confident mood.

“We’ve shown we can match the best teams in the league,” said Foley.

“There was always a belief that we could, although we had to prove it out on the field.

“What we need now is to go on a little run and gather some momentum again because the postponements since the start of the year have hurt us in that respect.

“Having a rest is fine, and sometimes it can help, but we need to be playing at the moment to make the most of the form we’re in.”

Foley stopped short of saying Witton, promoted via the play-offs from Division One South last year, can do the same again.

However he told the Guardian that a free-scoring side – only three teams have found the net more often – consider their season to be alive with 14 games left.

“We’re not done just yet,” said the midfielder, who transferred to Witton last summer from Marine.

“The management team don’t say to us ‘we have to make the play-offs’ but as a group we know what we’re going for.

“When I came here, Carl [Macauley] and Gary [Martindale] told me they planned to set their sights high and that they felt this team could challenge the best sides.

“That’s why the past few weeks have been important for us, and it says a lot when we felt heartbroken after only drawing at Grantham.”

Macauley has counted on the 24-year-old, who is the only player to have featured in every league game so far.

He signed Foley while manager at Marine, and has kept in touch with him since.

The Liverpool-based midfielder’s versatility – he has played in a wide position and at full-back as well as in the centre of the pitch – has helped him to become a fixture in the starting line-up.

Foley said: “It’s a surprise to find out I’m the only one to have played all the games!

“I discovered a close-knit group when I arrived, but there were no barriers to me joining it.

“I feel at home, and the trust everybody has in each other is stronger than any team I’ve been part of.”