GUISELEY manager Marcus Bignot is thrilled that his faith in the club's youngsters has been rewarded during pre-season, although one of those academy talents has suffered a highly unusual injury.

The Lions have been impressive so far this summer, following their excellent 2-1 victory over Bradford City with a comfortable 3-0 win at Yorkshire Amateur on Saturday.

Bignot has been delighted with the contributions of his younger players in those successes, saying: "I went to watch the academy side in their cup final win and I've been impressed with them.

"Russ and I have kept our promise by involving them in pre-season and I think it's important for us to keep producing our own talent.

"Dave Currie has been giving us advice on who to look at and give chances to and I've been happy with their performances so far."

One of those young stars is free-scoring Albert Ibrahimi, who has rejoined the club after a short spell at Bradford City. Bignot is delighted with the teenager's progress, despite a surprising setback.

The Guiseley manager laughed: "Albert suffered a moped accident while he was on holiday so unfortunately that's put him about a week behind everyone else.

"But I'm pleased with him, and also our signings in general. We're ahead of schedule with our recruitment and we've done it smartly."

The club held an open training session on Tuesday night, which saw players partake in a full practice match. Bignot was pleased with the event, saying: "It gives us the opportunity to engage with the fans.

"They can see what we've recruited and where all of the players are at right now, in terms of their pre-season progress.

"I spoke to a couple of supporters and they seemed pleased. We want to put smiles on their faces and if we can do that we'll be happy."

Guiseley play twice on Saturday, with games against Gateshead at home and West Auckland Town away, but Bignot will not necessarily be prioritising one over the other.

He said: "We'll split the squad up. Some of the seniors will play here at Nethermoor and some will travel up to the north east.

"There's a few trialists and academy players who've given us food for thought for selection and they'll get their chances at the weekend too. We'll hopefully be celebrating two wins on Saturday evening."

The Lions then host Bolton Wanderers at 7:45pm on Tuesday and Bignot said: "It's a busy week for us and whatever squad Bolton send for that game will be a big test.

"But hopefully we'll go into it after good results at the weekend because, although there's a physical fitness aspect to pre-season, it's important for us to keep our momentum by winning games."