Provided Jack Frost does not rear his elfish head again, then Aldershot Town will reach the halfway point of their League Two season on Saturday.

The Shots are yet to kick a ball in 2009, with their last two matches postponed due to frozen pitches, and have been stuck on 22 games played since losing their unbeaten home record to Dagenham & Redbridge, way back in 2008.

But the home match against Macclesfield Town will surely go ahead on Saturday, taking Gary Waddock’s side to 23 matches played, 23 to go.

Macclesfield will be the first side Aldershot have played twice in the league (due to postponements against Notts County and Gillingham) and that The Shots slipped up embarrassingly against The Silkmen in the second half in Cheshire in October shows that there have been some downs in this return season to the Football League.

That said, to be 11th, just four points and four places away from the play-offs, with at least one game in hand on all the sides above them, is testament to the fact that the highs outweigh the lows.

Especially at home; until that Dagenham defeat, Aldershot had won seven and drawn four at home.

Now, in Macclesfield and Notts County (re-arranged for next Tuesday, January 20), Aldershot have two games in quick succession, against sides below them in the table, in which to rebuild the ramparts of Fortress Rec.

Home is where the heart of Aldershot’s promotion promise has lain so far this season and Waddock’s side must not let an opportunity for three points like Saturday's slip.

Come Tuesday, 10pm, Aldershot will have just nine home league matches left this season, compared to 13 away from the Rec, so this home double must not be wasted. Whatever the weather, The Shots must make hay where the sun usually shines on them — at home.

“It’s a good job our away form has improved, isn’t it, with plenty of trips to come,” said manager Gary Waddock wryly this week. “But, yes, we must pick up some points in the two home games.

“That would put us in a healthy position and allow us to look forward to games ahead.

“But it will be a difficult game. Breaks in play stop momentum but, that said, I have been very pleased with the way the squad has worked and trained in this tricky period.”

Waddock used Monday’s training session to provide his squad with a match situation, as XI played XI over 90 minutes.

“The lads have had no match practice, so it was the perfect opportunity to give them as close to a 90-minute match as we could.”

Had Aldershot’s reserves taken on their Southampton  counterparts on Tuesday, rather than Wednesday, then Waddock would probably have involved many of Saturday's expected starting line-up against The Saints.

Instead, while captain Rhys Day was involved — he had asked to be so — Waddock, speaking on Tuesday, was reluctant to risk too many of his senior players.

“Wednesday is too close to Macclesfield for my liking,” he said. “The likes of John Grant, Junior Mendes, Rob Elvins and Louie Soares will play for the reserves but, with our small squad, we must be careful.” Aldershot went on to lose 4-2, with Day and Grant on target.

Against Macclesfield, Aldershot are likely to be unchanged from the 1-0 defeat to Dagenham, apart from Day returning from injury, which will most likely mean Soares misses out and Chris Blackburn reverts to right back.

Macclesfield, who are 15th in the table, are unpredictable opponents, with erratic results all season, once they got over a torrid start. Dire in the first half against Aldershot at Moss Rose, they, especially Danny Thomas, burst into life in the second half, admittedly with a couple of helping hands from Nikki Bull, and scored four times to win 4-2.

Their away record is respectable too, with four wins and two draws, including a 4-2 win in December at Chesterfield, where Aldershot lost 5-1 in October.

But there have been some heavy defeats, both home and away, such as 4-1 at Morecambe in their last away match, on Boxing Day. Indeed, The Silkmen’s defence, with 47 goals conceded is the worst in the division bar Barnet’s (48).

Only twice have they kept a clean sheet in the league.

Moreover, at the other end of the pitch, Keith Alexander’s men have just lost key striker Martin Gritton, who has been banging in the goals since November, to Chesterfield, against whom he scored twice in that 4-2 win. Gareth Evans and veteran Simon Yeo are both more than capable finishers, however - as Evans showed when he scored the first goal for The Silkmen in October.

The surprising sale of teenage striker Nick Blackman to Premier League Blackburn Rovers will have had less effect on Alexander's squad than the loss of Gritton; Blackman has scarcely featured in three seasons at Macclesfield.

The Silkmen, like The Shots, had two league games called off in the early-January freeze, home to Port Vale and away to Exeter City, but they have played more recently than Waddock's side.

That was in the third round of the FA Cup nearly a fortnight ago, in which they more than held their own against Premier League Everton, losing just 1-0, to a goal from Leon Osman. That effort suggests there is plenty of spirit in Alexander’s side but that they are underachieving in League Two.

Until they start to keep clean sheets, however, they will continue to lose games and fail to realise their potential - and Waddock’s side are at their best when they take the game to vulnerable opponents, especially at the Rec.

“That’s how we play at home and it will be important to set the tempo and try and put the opponent on the back foot," said Waddock.

“But it will be tough after not playing for so long and we all know that we have already lost to Macclesfield this season. You cannot underestimate anybody in this league."

That 4-2 defeat at Macclesfield was perhaps the most bizarre of a terrible run of seven straight league defeats on the road. Granted, the 5-1 mauling at Chesterfield was to follow but at least The Spireites played some impressive football.

The same cannot necessarily be said of Macclesfield. Aldershot had bossed the first half but pressed the self-destruct button in the second and Macclesfield, ordinary but professional, took full advantage. The Shots were guilty of poor defending and goalkeeping but also lost their shape — and panicked, allowing Terry Dunfield to seize control of the midfield.

Waddock and Martin Kuhl have since tweaked Aldershot’s approach and the defence is pretty sound. Moreover, Aldershot’s line-up in likely to be quite different to the Moss Rose game, in which Lewis Chalmers, Soares, Dean Howell and Elvins all started.

“We did not give a good account of ourselves up there,” said Waddock. “The result was poor and we must make sure it does not happen again.”

Tomorrow is the first match in a frenetic six-week period up until the end of February, in which The Shots will play 11 League Two matches (Gillingham, away, was re-arranged this week for Tuesday February 17). That is some going considering that, so far, they have taken 23 weeks to play their 22 games.

Waddock’s squad is not a big one and it is imperative that it stays free of serious injury and lengthy suspension in the second half of the season.

The squad is looking especially threadbare at the moment, with Chalmers and Dave Winfield out on loan and Scott Donnelly picking up an injury in training.

“It’s typical that as soon as I let Lewis Chalmers go out on loan, something happens to another central midfielder. Scott got injured last Friday. Hopefully he won’t be out for long,” said Waddock.

At least the suspension situation is less threatening. While red cards in games cannot be legislated for, only Danny Hylton is close to a ban for five bookings.

“Danny [four cautions] is hovering close to the mark but I am not too concerned about that, as up front is where the squad is healthy, with five fit strikers.”

One of those, Grant, has made only sporadic appearances of late and slipped behind Mendes over the Christmas period as back-up striker.

But Waddock has been pleased with what he has seen from Grant in training over the last couple of weeks.

“John has done really well lately and has been looking sharp. I’m not saying he’s quite there yet but he’s definitely looking back close to where John Grant wants to be. I have spoken to all the strikers this week and they know what I want from them.”

Grant and Marvin Morgan were both dropped at Moss Rose back in October but Morgan is likely to start this time, alongside Hylton, who scored one of Aldershot’s goals at Macclesfield.

Kirk Hudson scored the other and if Hylton, Morgan, Hudson and Andy Sandell can play as well as they did in the first half against Dagenham — Aldershot should have led by more than one goal — then Macclesfield’s porous defence will struggle to contain The Shots.

But it is a little hard to predict just how Aldershot will play after what amounts to a winter break. That is the norm in Italy; will The Shots make a sluggish start like Inter Milan did last weekend, held 1-1 at home by struggling Cagliari; or a bright one, like Lecce, who sprang a surprise with a win at Fiorentina?

Waddock for one believes his squad can quickly find their form and he said he was looking forward to seeing how his side responded to what has been a frustrating period without games.

“There’s nothing you can do about games clocking up. You just have to get on with things and if we can go on a really good run in this busy time then all the matches might prove to be a blessing,” said Waddock.

“Just like in the transfer window last season, I am happy with my squad. They have done well and I am pleased with them. Now we must make sure we start picking up points again.”

Kick-off at The EBB Stadium on Saturday is at 3pm.

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