STRIKER Nicky Boshell, who was on Guiseley’s wanted list for much of last season, has returned to the club.

The brother of player-assistant manager Danny Boshell, has moved to Nethermoor after having his contract with Bradford Park Avenue cancelled on Monday.

Guiseley made a number of inquiries for the striker last season but their Conference North rivals didn’t want to part with the 27-year-old player.

Guiseley will be hoping that Boshell will be able to achieve the same scoring rate he enjoyed in his previous spell. He scored 11 goals in 19 games before leaving midway through the 2012-13 season.

Boshell made his return for the Lions in Tuesday night’s 1-0 friendly win at Clitheroe. He will also feature in Saturday’s final warm-up game with Farsley Celtic at Throstle Nest.

Boss Mark Bower is delighted to have Boshell back in the fold. He said: “Nicky can play a number of positions and it is a bonus that he is left footed. We did try to sign him last season and we are glad he is now on board for the new season.”

There will certainly be plenty of competition for the attacking roles this season. “We have seven players for four positions and that should give us plenty of cover for injuries,” said Bower.

“We have to continue to manage the injury situation with Oli Johnson to get the best out of him, while Alex Johnson is still having trouble with his ankle.”

Bower is expecting to play virtually a full-strength side at Farsley, although there are a couple of players nursing problems.

Midfieldman Jake Lawlor has a slight muscle strain, Danny Hall has taken a knock and assistant-manager Danny Boshell is recovering from a bout of shingles.

The injuries and concerns about the new Nethermoor pitch, led to Guiseley calling off Saturday’s planned home game with Conference Premier side Nuneaton Town.

“We had to be sensible and after standing up well to the matches against Bradford City and Leeds United, we had a few problems during the match with Huddersfield.

“There were a couple of areas of the pitch causing some concern so it was agreed to not play on it for a couple of weeks and let the groundstaff work on it.

“We probably tried to play too many games, too soon after it was laid. The grass probably needs a little more time to take root and our aim all along is to have a great surface for our league games.

“We need that because of the type of football we play and we don’t want to do anything that will be detrimental to achieving that.”

Bower will be anxious this weekend to settle on the formation and the personnel he will employ for the opening Conference North game at Leamington on Saturday week.

During the six matches that Guiseley have played to date, Bower has taken the opportunity to try out a number of things.

He said: “We have tried players in various positions and also adopted different formations.

“Some things have worked for us and others haven’t. The most important thing is that the players have all got game time.

“Farsley will give us the sort of match we need before we get down to the league action.

“We have a good idea of the formation we want to use and the way we want to play, but there is still time for the players to stake a claim for a place.

“I am confident that we will have strong competition for places.”