Views Of The Opposition: Macc

How has your season been so far?
To be honest our season has been very much when its good it is very good and when it is bad it is absolutely shocking. On one side of the coin we went to Notts Forest and turned them over at the City Ground and were only denied a place in the LDV Final on the away goals ruling. Yet on the other side of the coin we have only won once away all season (albeit the memorable 5-4 win at Wycombe) and capitulate to very average looking teams on a worryingly regular basis.

I am sorry to say the highlight of the season so far is the Boxing Day derby where County faced the best Macc performance this year by a mile.


What’s your recent form like?
Statistics are not my favourite source of information as football is played on a field and not in record books. Quite often they are deceptive – you can prove anything with them. But the bottom line is that 2 wins in 11 is not good enough. The players know that, as do the manager and the fans. Hopefully Tuesday evening’s wonderful comeback against Wrexham will spur us on to get the points we need to ensure our survival in League Two though.


Any players we should look out for on Saturday?
All eleven! All are potential match-winners for us and all will have important jobs to do if we are going to get anything from the game. Our new striker, Matty McNeil looks pretty sharp and in many ways is similar to the Beast himself – Jon Parkin. He is the sort of player we have been crying out for – one who can hold the ball up, act as a target man and weigh in with a few goals for good measure.

In addition, I read in the Macc Express this week that Horton is looking to sign a new striker before Saturday so it could well be a case of watch this space!


Any key players injured that will miss out on Saturday?
County fans will be glad to hear that Parkin has been sold to Hull so obviously wont feature on Saturday – you cant say we are not giving you a chance! Other than that, Mark Bailey is out for the season, Clyde Wijnhard should be ruled out and Kevin Sandwith is doubtful to start after picking up a knock against Rochdale last Saturday.


You came from 2-0 down last night (Tuesday) to win 3-2 against Wrexham. What was your performance like?

First half was dreadful and we were lucky to be gifted an own goal to put us right back in a game where Wrexham were looking towards rugby scores rather than football ones.

The second half was completely different, the players gave everything , scored two cracking goals and took all three points. The crowd really got behind the side and responded to what was happening on the pitch – it was a great atmosphere.

‘If your all going County clap your hands!’ could be heard echoing around the ground towards the end of the match. For many fans Tuesday was seen as the warm up for the main event though.


You beat us 6-0 on Boxing Day, what did you make of the behaviour of the County fans at the ground and I take it you weren’t too impressed with our performance?!

To be fair I wasn’t aware of any problems despite all the hype it was given. There were a few County fans ejected for being in the home end causing trouble but all in all the County fans were great. They were good humoured and a credit to their club – I think many Macc fans will recall some of the chants coming from the away end when the sixth had gone in. Despite the score line the fans didn’t just go home and made the day all the more enjoyable.

In terms of the result – well you caught us on a good day! I think the early sending off was crucial, and in many ways altered the complexion of the game. After that you guys were really up against it and we looked terrifying on the break. It seemed like everything we hit went in. Maybe the score line was a bit harsh but I thought we were well worth the three points – and I guess this will act as a great motive for County to try and get revenge on Saturday after we wrecked their Christmas!


How many fans will you bring on Saturday?
At a guess I would say around 1300. Probably more than we get for home games!


Prediction?
Stockport County 2-3 Macclesfield Town