County play host to Leyton Orient tomorrow at Edgeley Park looking for their first home win of the season.
Orient haven’t won in six games themselves, and will be boosted by the news that skipper Stephen Purches and defender Ben Chorley have both travelled with the squad.
County will of course be without manager Gary Ablett for the visit of Orient, who faces a one match touchline ban for being sent to the stands in the 2-0 away defeat at Leeds.
Ex-Liverpool YT coach Hughie McAuley is thought to be set to take Ablett’s place in the dugout.
Vital Quotes:
Ablett on McAuley: ‘Hughie’s someone I know and I trust and he’s been taking the load off me.’
‘It’s difficult because if we had gone for someone who was with a club there would have been the possibility of paying compensation to get them out of a contract.’
‘We could have gone for someone who’s out of work but who I don’t know, and then they would have to come in and get to know the group again.’
‘I’m quite fortunate that Hughie is out of work at the moment and he’s agreed to come in and work with us.’
‘John got on great with the lads and we had a laugh and a joke but we also worked hard when we had to, and Hughie’s the same.’
‘He’s helped in the development of some of Liverpool’s greatest players in the last 20-odd years. The Gerrards, Carraghers, Fowlers, Owens and McManamans you name it, Hughie’s been involved in their development so I see it as a big plus that we’ve brought him on board.’
Ablett on Orient: ‘These are the games that we need to target.’
‘These are the games we need to look to take points from.’
County Team News:
County will hand home debuts to loanees Liam Bridcutt, Nick Bignall and Paul Huntington.
Luca Havern, Adam Griffin and David Poole have all signed 1 year contract extensions and will take their place in the squad tomorrow.
Leading scorer in the country Carl Baker will resume in the starting eleven and will surely receive a massive ovation from the County faithful.
Skipper Michael Raynes could also feature after completing 90 minutes for the reserves against Crewe in midweek.
Player to watch: Paul Huntington
Leeds fans say he’s a good defender but prone to lapses in concentration and focus. Perfect replacement for Michael Raynes then (!)
Will be looking for a solid impressive performance in front of the Cheadle End for the first time.
Leyton Orient Team News:
Midfielder Sean Thornton is still sidelined with a knee injury and will be absent for another three weeks.
Swansea loanee Kristian O’Leary is pushing for a full debut after two substitute appearances.
Goalkeeper Jamie Jones has been on the bench for the last two games following a hip injury and is now breathing down Glenn Morris’ neck following a string of costly mistakes from Morris.
Skipper Stephen Purches and Ben Chorley are both 50/50 for the game, but both have travlled down to Stockport with the squad.
Player to watch: Scott McGleish
County came face-to-face with the former Northampton striker in the magnificent play-off two-legged win over Wycombe in 2008.
McGleish was kept relatively quiet by a strong backline of Owen, McNulty, Rose and Jamie Smith, but times have changed in the County squad since then and the experienced striker will be looking to use some of his guile and experience to bully the young back four.
Match Odds
County – 13/10
Draw – 11/5
Orient – 13/8
Match Prediction:
2-2. Come on County.
Next Fixtures:
Sat 26th September ’09
15:00
Huddersfield Town – Galpharm Stadium
L1
