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FC United take on league leaders AFC Halifax Town in the Evo-Stik League Premier Division this Saturday at Gigg Lane, kick off 3.00 pm. It promises to be a pulsating game as Halifax aim to carry on their push for promotion whilst FC aim to bring their level of performance in recent cup matches into the league.
After the midweek defeat to Brighton in the FA Cup Margy was keen to praise the efforts of the players. "It?s back to league action on Saturday after a few weeks away. Before getting onto Saturday?s matters it?s only right that I pay tribute to the players for their efforts on Wednesday, and right throughout our involvement in the FA Cup. The 4-0 scoreline suggests we were soundly beaten but at two-nil if the penalty had gone in then it would?ve been a different game. In the second half the players increased their work rate and tried to put them under pressure and at times they managed that."
"In truth, the second goal was a bit of a killer coming just before halftime but it showed the quality that they?ve got. Two or three passes and they had the ball in the back of our net. Okay, there may have been a fortunate ricochet but they had the ability to take advantage of that sort of thing in a flash."
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"That's the way it goes though. In the first game we were fortunate to get away with a draw, in the replay we were unfortunate to come away with a four-goal defeat. A fairer reflection maybe would've been a two-one defeat. That said, their passing was incredible at times but I was pleased that our lads kept in there and showed excellent fitness to keep going to the very end. That's something that comes with playing these big games, something Brighton do every week."
"We've got games in hand now in the league and we need to make them count. If we produce the type of effort and spirit we've shown in the cup then we will cause problems for any teams at this level. That's the message the players will be getting and it's one they've got to take on board. They have to go out with the intention of not leaving anything in the tank come the end. We need to go out and get at teams from the off like we did at Rochdale - couple that with the level of concentration we've shown and there?s no doubt we'll fly up the league."
"The defence was superb again on Wednesday, with Parker and Quistin coming in and playing excellently after long spells out of the team. Martin was fantastic - we're blessed with quite a few good centre-halves. With Scott banned for his red card at Brighton we'll probably go for the same defence today. As well as Ludo coming back, Lee Neville's not far away whilst Jerome's in contention again against Brighton we missed the balance he provides."
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Sam Ashton - Player of the Round?
"Everything's looking nice and bright so hopefully we can build on it. We certainly need to as it's six games without a win now and we don't want that turning into seven and eight. The cup's gone, we've had a great time but the main thing is that we get our heads back on the job in hand and what better game to come back to than one against the league leaders in front of another big crowd. I'll expect the players to be right up for it and we'll certainly be looking for the win. We've got players with great ability who could be playing at a lot higher level some of them could easily be professionals playing in the league but now they've got to be true to that ability and show it on a week-in, week-out basis."
"The crowd was brilliant again - the atmosphere was superb, unbelievable. Gus Poyet commented on it, saying he thinks our club's fantastic and was being very complimentary. It'd be easy for him to come up here and get his win and go home but it seems we've made quite a few friends in the pro game during this little run and long may we continue to build on things like that. I'm immensely proud of everyone and if we can all repeat that sort of effort on Saturday and during the rest of the season then we won't be far away come the final day."
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