IT was a wonderful Christmas time for Marcus Bignot and Guiseley, but he knows his side cannot rest on their laurels if they want to enjoy a Happy New Year too.

They visit play-off rivals Farsley Celtic in the Vanarama National League North today, having already beaten them 2-0 at home on Boxing Day. That win was followed two days later by a fantastic 2-1 success at title challengers York City.

Experienced utility player Hamza Bencherif played a vital role in both games, and scored the opener at York, with Bignot praising the 31-year-old’s versatility.

The Guiseley joint-manager said: “Hamza’s come and taken the armband over the last three games as we lost Scott Garner through suspension (after his red card against Brackley Town).

“He’s been a massive plus for our turnaround in results and performances. We’ve changed shape over the last few weeks and we’ve asked him to do different roles but there’s no grumbling from him. He just comes out and does his duty.

“He’s acquitted himself well. He can be proud of his performances, and how he’s led us. He’s not a ranter or raver, he leads by example.

“Hamza’s a credit to himself, the other players and everyone at the club.”

Bencherif may have to give up the captaincy today with Garner returning from suspension, but he will still need to be at his best if the Lions are to do the double over Farsley.

Bignot insists things will be different from the 2-0 win last week, saying: “No two games are the same and it won’t map out in the same way as Boxing Day.

“We know the performance we need to put in to get the result that’s required and hopefully we’ll continue what we’ve been doing.

“We’re four games unbeaten away from home and have picked up eight points in that run, which is a superb return, so we must be doing something right.

“We haven’t got any further injuries going into the Farsley game either. If you listen to most managers they made changes, like how York rested Steve McNulty, who’s won promotion from the National League three times, against us.

“But we kept the same team for both games, which shows what this group’s capable of.”

That group excelled in victory at York, with a delighted Bignot saying: “The odds were against us, playing twice in three days when we’re part-time and York are full-time.

“But the boys were superb. York are one of the better teams in the division. They’re an ex-Football League club who play in front of 3,000 fans and if you look into that too much, the task looks daunting.

“Our squad only had an average age of 22 as well, so to get the result in those circumstances was fantastic.

“We faced challenges in the game but the team showed great potential.”