Margy hails 'best dressing room ever' ahead of hosting Nantwich Town

FC United manager Karl Marginson has praised his players as the best group he’s ever worked with ahead of Nantwich Town’s visit to Bower Fold on Sunday afternoon.

A win could put the Reds up to fourth place in the Evo-Stik Premier Division with games in hand on all of our rivals as we look to turn up the pressure on the promotion chasing pack. Margy will assess the fitness of top-scorers Tom Greaves and Matthew Wolfenden but he is confident they will both be involved in the match. He said: "Wolfy suffered a dead leg towards the end of Tuesday’s game, so he missed training on Thursday night, and we’ve just got to be careful with Tom because we’re not sure if he’s up to playing so many games back-to-back due to the problems he had earlier in the season."

Margy was full of praise for Greaves, who has scored 15 goals so far this season with seven coming in his last six games. He said: "He’s on fire at the moment, there’s no stopping him. He’s a dream to work with, he gets what FC United is all about and he loves it."

The nomadic Reds expect to play at Stalybridge Celtic’s ground for the final time, for this season at least, because after this weekend our remaining home games are being played at Curzon’s Ashton’s Tameside Stadium and, hopefully, our very own Broadhurst Park. United are high on confidence, having lost just one match (in normal and extra time) in our last 19 outings - an incredible run since mid-October with just a narrow 2-1 defeat at Stourbridge the only blemish on that record.

Margy believes the achievement is down to the attitude of everyone involved in the squad, both players and coaches. He said: "The team spirit is excellent. I’ve never seen a dressing room like it. It’s a great place to be at the moment. The lads are taking onboard all of the messages that the coaching staff are giving them. They all want to work hard for each other. The camaraderie and confidence is fantastic but it’s not over the top, there’s a great humility there and there’s plenty of banter. That transfers onto the pitch and gets results."

And Margy added: "I have so much trust and faith in the players at the moment. Even at 2-0 down against Chorley I honestly wasn’t worried, I knew we had it in us to come back. And of course, we did."

FC United have been boosted by two extra players at training this week - new signing Shelton Payne and club stalwart Mike Norton, who has been out injured since October. Margy said: "Norts is chomping at the bit to get back involved. In fact, he’s been mithering me to death to get a game. But we have to be careful, he had a very serious injury and we don’t want to risk setting his recovery back by reintroducing him to the action too early. There’s a reserve team game next Saturday that he might be able to have a run out in."

And Margy has no doubts about the quality of his new acquisition. Asked whether Payne would be deployed as a winger, striker or supporting attacker, Margy said: "He can do it all. He’ll be a great asset to the club, he’s an absolutely magnificent talent. By his own admissions, he needed to realise what he needed to do to be a success. He’s knuckled down at Trafford under the guidance of Garry Vaughan and he’s been fulfilling his potential. I think the fans will enjoy watching him too because he’s got a fair bit of flair and he’s the sort of player who’s capable of winning matches on his own."

Sunday will be the 20th competitive meeting between FC United and the Dabbers, who are currently struggling in 19th place in the Evo-Stik Premier Division. The Reds are ahead in the fixture with nine wins to five and we narrowly beat our opponents with a last gasp 2-1 victory at the Weaver Stadium in October with goals from substitutes Greaves and Tom Brown.

Nantwich can be a force to be reckoned with though. Former FC United striker Aaron Burns is proving just as prolific at Nantwich with 17 goals this season. The visitors will probably bring with them other familiar faces too; new signing Nicky Platt, and centre-backs Adam Jones and Andy Pearson. Let’s hope none of the four former Reds come back to haunt us.

FC United of Manchester versus Nantwich Town is this Sunday at Bower Fold with kick-off at three o’clock. It’s pay on the gate as usual with prices voted for by our members - £8 for adults, £5 for concessions, and £2 for under-18s. Get yourself to that football ground.