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Fitness test for Wright as Soule says best is yet to come

Winger Jerome Wright will face a fitness test to see if he is ready to play in FC United’s match against Mickleover Sports on Saturday afternoon as the Reds look to continue their charge towards the play-off places.

Wright required four stitches in a leg wound after being brutally hacked down during the 2-1 win at Stocksbridge Park Steels last weekend and may need a little longer to recover. United are boosted by the return from suspension of centre-back Scott McManus and young midfielder Matthew Tierney as well as the news that Kyle Jacobs is available if needed.

Jacobs is currently awaiting a hernia operation which means he cannot play on a regular basis, however he was named as a substitute at Stocksbridge and may be back in a Red shirt sooner rather than later. FC United assistant manager Roy Soule explained: “Kyle feels a lot better through resting. He’ll still need the operation but he should be able to play through until the end of the season is we use him sensibly and sparingly.???

With Richard Battersby serving a one game ban for being sent off during the 4-2 win over Chasetown, Jacobs may gain a recall tomorrow, although deploying Jimmy Holden in the right-back position may be the preferred option for Marginson and Soule.

Meanwhile, long-term injury absentee Steve Torpey is ‘responding really well to his remedial training’ according to Soule but is still a number of weeks away from full training whilst centre-back Martin Parker is hoping to have his foot cast removed this week as he recovers from a broken metatarsal.

United go into the game enjoying their best run of league form this season, undefeated in the last seven with five consecutive victories. One of the stand out performers in recent weeks has been Matthew Wolfenden, who has scored seven goals in his last five games. The former Oldham Athletic player’s form has delighted Soule just as much as the FC United faithful.

Soule said: “I’ve known Matty since he was 10-years-old. He’s a bit of a Paul Scholes type of character. When I got in touch with him, he hadn’t kicked a ball for about four mouths and his confidence was a bit low (after being released by Wrexham).

“We got him down to training, just as much for his benefit because I look out for these lads. He got his fitness and confidence back now and the main thing he was missing was game time.

"Obviously, to get that with us he needed to sign for us so we offered him what we can afford. Straight away he said it wasn’t about the money, he justs wants to be at a club that will show a bit of faith in him and give him an opportunity.

"He’s getting that now and you can see the results but I’ll tell you something – you haven’t seen the best out of Matty Wolfenden yet. He’s got another 25% left in the tank.???

With an on-form team scoring for fun, 16 goals in the last five, on paper United will be confident of sweeping aside Mickleover who currently sit fourth from bottom. However, matches aren’t played on paper. The Derbyshire side have already beaten the Reds 2-0 back in October and Soule warned against complacency.

He said: “At the beginning of January we were down at the bottom of the table where they are now and teams might have been thinking they could beat us but look where a good run can get you.

“We’ll take nothing for granted. The strength of this league is that anyone can beat anyone on their day. Look at Ossett Town, they scored four goals at Kendal the other week and Stocksbridge went up there and beat them too. We’ve got to play as we know we’re capable of doing. If we do that, there’s not many teams that can cope with us.???

FC United versus Mickleover Sports is this Saturday at Gigg Lane with kick-off at 3pm. It’s pay on the gate with prices at £8 for adults, £5 for concessions and £2 for people under the age of 18-years-old. Get yourself to that football ground.



First Posted ~ 11:01 Sun 6 Mar 2011
News ID ~ 3459
Last Updated ~ 00:47 Tue 16 Feb 2021