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Paper talk inspires Reds

Karl Marginson has dismissed Salford City manager Gary Fellows’ comments in the local press ahead of the two sides’ Second Round FA Vase encounter at The Willows on Saturday and has declared that they will only inspire FC United.

Fellows was quoted in the Salford Advertiser as saying: "We are a better team than FC United and we showed that at the previous game. FC play on good pitches in big grounds every week because of their crowd, but we don’t get that advantage and we’re still not far behind them,"?? and he added: "There’s not one player in my squad I would swap for one of theirs."??

Unconcerned Margy responded: "Football’s all about opinions and he’s entitled to his, but he’s wrong. To me his comments show a lack of footballing knowledge,"?? before highlighting the fact that the Reds have played at the home grounds of Nantwich Town, Newcastle Town, Padiham and Brodsworth Miners Welfare and have won every match.

Margy admits that Fellows’ comments will only serve to rally the United players who are already really up for the match but he maintains from his point of view there is no grudge against Salford, it is all about overcoming a physiological obstacle.

He said: "Last season we didn’t manage to beat Flixton, drawing at their place and then losing at home. I don’t want another one of those situations, it’s important that we put it to bed.

"It’ll be good to see if the lads can meet the challenge head on. They’ve learnt a lot from that night (when they lost to Salford), they’ve learnt when they need to battle and dig in and play ugly football when necessary and that’s got them through games like the ones against Newcastle and Maine Road.

"One of the problems was the last time we played Salford we were too used to beating teams easily, but we’ve had some tough games since then and that defeat still hurts, the players still talk about it now, which shows how much it means to them."??

Rory Patterson will be the only player unavailable for selection due to suspension and Margy is confident that the Reds have enough in their armoury to cope without their second highest top scorer. He said: "We’ve got other players who can come in and do the job so it shouldn’t be a problem."??



First Posted ~ 11:30 Fri 17 Nov 2006
News ID ~ 675
Last Updated ~ 01:52 Tue 16 Feb 2021