GAMES do not come much bigger than the ones Warrington Town have coming up.

There are only five sides currently below Yellows in the National League North table, but two of them provide their opposition in their next pair of fixtures.

These are the kinds of fixtures that have tripped Town up over the course of the season but now, they find themselves in a position where they will define their campaign and ultimately, their bid to avoid relegation.

The long trip to bottom club Needham Market looms large on February 1 but first, manager Paul Carden takes his side to Farsley Celtic on Saturday for a game to be played at Buxton FC’s Silverlands home ground, where the Celts are currently playing home fixtures due to prolonged difficulties installing an artificial surface at their Citadel ground.

Both sides won at the Cal.Delivery Stadium earlier this season but now, Yellows find themselves needing to return the favour.

By the time the two games are done, Town could find themselves either with more of a cushion against the drop zone or mired within it, and Carden was under no illusions as to how important these two fixtures are.

“I say it all the time and it’s not just a cliché to throw away, but they’re all big,” he said after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at National League North leaders Kidderminster Harriers.

“Given the situation we’re in, every Saturday, Tuesday or whenever we play is a big game because it’s three points at stake.

“We’ll be defined by the games against teams in and around us – that’s what we’ve got coming up and we need to make sure our work rate is there, because it certainly was against for me the best team I’ve seen in this league.

“We’ve got to keep going because there’s a lot of games to play and a lot of points at stake.”

Carden will not be able to call upon the services of midfielder Matty McDonald, who will miss Saturday’s game through suspension having been sent off for two yellow cards against Kidderminster.

He will, however, continue to have central defender Hamish Douglas available to him after his loan deal from Rotherham United was extended until the end of February, while he has also added Edy Maieco to his squad.

A dual-registration deal done with Macclesfield has allowed the winger to join the Town squad, and Carden believes he will add things his existing group did not possess.

“You see the size of him and his athleticism, but he’s also left-footed so he gives us a bit more balance which we haven’t had,” he said.

“We only had two left-footed players in the squad in Jack Hont and Andy White, and Whitey’s injured so he’ll give us that.

“He wants to come in and do well and he’s hungry. He covers the ground well and we need that energy and athleticism in the side.

“He’s always scored goals wherever he’s been and that’s something we certainly need.”

Town have received international clearance to allow their newly-appointed player-coach Craig Noone to feature on the field, meaning he is eligible to make his debut on Saturday.