Jim Nichols feels his Penrith AFC side are in "a really false position in the league table" - as they look to transfer their impressive cup form into the Northern League.

Penrith have won eight cup matches in all competitions this season and are still in the FA Vase, the Cumberland Cup and the League Cup.

But their cup commitments have meant they have fallen drastically behind in their Northern League fixture calendar and have a remarkable seven games in hand on Whitley Bay, ahead of today's match against them (3pm kick-off).

Manager Nichols said: "I think we are in a really false position in the league table. If we win our games in hand, then we are back in the top half."

When asked if he was concerned about a possible fixture backlog, Nichols - a primary school teacher at Petteril Bank Community School - said: "Not really at the moment.

"It might be a problem if we lose some more games during the Christmas period. At the moment, it's not really a big concern.

"We have a big squad and the players would probably rather play than train midweek, anyway I think."

The Bonny Blues will come up against Whitley Bay this afternoon after they confirmed Marc Nash as their new manager this week.

"They seem to have picked up a bit in form. They changed their manager quite recently," Nichols said.

"Having looked throughout the side, they have some decent players. They have got a new manager this week but he has been involved at the club for a long time.

"He is not somebody that will be bringing lots of fresh ideas. I'm not really fussed about what they are doing."

Despite the team being on a five-game unbeaten run, that hasn't stopped the Bonny Blues boss from adding to his squad this week.

He said: "We just signed Dean Rea from Gretna on Wednesday. He'll offer some more cover at centre-back and full-back."

Unlike in previous season, where Penrith were heavily reliant on goals from striker Martyn Coleman, the goals have been spread out throughout the squad more this season.

"We feel we have goals right throughout the squad, which is unusual because we are usually relying on Martyn Coleman," Nichols said.

"I can't think of many players that haven't scored this season. I think Martyn has only got 12 this season.

"Bobby Atkinson has come in and I think he's on four. We have goals throughout the team."

The Penrith boss also praised his attacking players for their recent defensive work.

He added: "It's unusual to talk about forwards when you're talking about defending but our forwards have really worked hard, defending really hard, up the pitch."