“Couldn’t be prouder”, Reds manager Danny Grainger

First team manager Danny Grainger says he ‘couldn’t be prouder’ of his team at the moment ahead of Reds’ long-awaited Buildbase FA Trophy tie tonight.

Heading into Yorkshire to face Tadcaster Albion, who Reds beat 2-0 in the league on Saturday, Grainger took time to preview the match, after firstly reflecting on Saturday.

​ I think it was massive.

He said regarding the result which saw goals from Brad Hubbold and Nathan Waterston.

It gives the lads confidence, not only going into tonight’s game but in general.​

I thought it was a big game and we could make a statement, and to hear their post-match comments sort of saying we were the best team they’ve come up against is a real compliment.

But as we keep saying to the boys, compliments mean nothing unless you back them up results and I couldn’t be prouder at the moment.

Following a fortnight​ of postponements, the pressure was on Reds to find their feet quickly against the then-third in the NPL North West Division Tadcaster, and the​ boss was pleased with the display from the off.

After a two-week break, I thought we started really well with front-foot football and took the game to them.

Due to Brighouse Town fielding an ineligible player in the last qualifying round of the FA Trophy, the Brewers have been reinstated and the two teams will meet for the second time in four days.

If the game ends in a draw at the Global Stadium, a replay will be held on Saturday at Borough Park, and Grainger has expressed his feelings on how things have been handled.

He admitted:

I feel like we’ve got the raw end of the deal.

I know Tadcaster have done nothing wrong but for me, it should be a Saturday game with us now making a long journey midweek.

The FA Trophy’s important and we both want to progress in it but they’re coming out with the best end of the deal getting a midweek home tie.

It will be a trip to Leek Town for the eventual winners, while a loss this evening would see Reds’ scheduled league fixture at Widnes go ahead.

Preparation isn’t going to be great for whoever we have to play on Saturday; whether it’s the league or Trophy.​

It is a bit LastMinute.com but we won’t sulk about it and if we can turn up and do our job, we can be successful.

Given the short notice that Grainger alluded to, players may be unavailable for the match and the manager revealed some early team news.

Millenic [Alli] won’t be involved due to being cup-tied, but we need to be careful with lads carrying knocks pushing them to their limits.

We’ve just got the news that Brad Carroll is going to be out for a few weeks. Luckily, we’ve had some help from Dolly [Neil Dalton, physiotherapist] and we can’t thank him enough for his help.

Ronan [Irving] and Becky [Hayes] will put together a plan for him to make sure he’s back on the pitch in a few weeks.

Kick-off tonight in Yorkshire is 7:45pm, on Ings Lane, LS24 9AY. The prize for the winner is £2,450 while whichever side is defeated will receive £800.