PHIL Parkinson ‘couldn’t have been prouder’ of his Altrincham players after they inched closer to the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League title with a hard-fought goalless draw at Buxton on Tuesday night.

With 10th-placed Buxton again playing above themselves, as they did at The J.Davidson Stadium last November, Alty had to dig deep for a point that leaves them needing another five to be sure of promotion as champions.

“You could see how up for it Buxton were, and it was important we battled as well as we did,” said Alty boss Parkinson, whose side travel to Shaw Lane tonight and Grantham on Saturday before home games with Marine on Tuesday night and Hednesford a week on Saturday.

“It’s always a big game for the opposition when Alty come to town, and credit to Buxton for the effort they put in. That’s the pressure my lads face on a weekly basis – teams playing at a level Buxton did – but, once more, they took it in their stride. I thought they were superb, absolutely immense, and I’m delighted with the point.

“We had a fantastic following again, and we showed we can compete when it’s a difficult surface and a dog of a game. There were some massive performances in the back ranks. I can’t single anyone out, but it was so important we took a point, and I couldn’t have been prouder of the players.

“We just need to keep turning the points over and turning the screw on everyone else. We still need to put points on the board with four games to go, and we know one thing – on the evidence of tonight, no-one is going to give them us.”

Alty’s defensive resources were further stretched after James Jones was carried off with a hamstring injury, but Parkinson is confident they can cope.

“We won’t know the extent of the injury until we assess it tomorrow,” he said.

“It will be a shame if it keeps James out, because he has been absolutely fantastic for us, but Jake Moult showed he can slot in there and Connor Hampson is ready to come back in after recovering from injury.”