Manager Preview: Grainger expecting tough Marske test

First-team manager Danny Grainger is expecting a ‘tough’ game tomorrow against fifth-place Marske United.

Reds return to Borough Park hoping to get back to winning ways on home soil after beating Colne on the road last time out.

Firstly speaking on the victory, Grainger expressed: “I was delighted.

“They’re the type of games that you look at sometimes, where the weather’s horrendous, the pitch is getting heavier and heavier and everything sets up for a bad day.

“You can look for many excuses on days like that but I thought the boys were fantastic. I thought they retained the ball well, going against the wind to start with and dominated the game.

“There wasn’t many chances in the first half but when the chances came along, we took them and in the second half we were very comfortable.

“It was nice to get the likes of Scott Allison and Tinners [Conor Tinnion] off the pitch, people like that who’ve played a lot of minutes in a busy schedule.”

Grainger opted for a changed shape in the trip to Lancashire, going for a somewhat midfield diamond as opposed to the familiar 4-3-3 formation.

The manager explained his decision and evaluated how it worked.

“It was something I’d be toying with for a few weeks,” he revealed.

“It was just to try and give Tinners and Brad Hubbold a bit more space and time on the ball to dictate the play but it didn’t quite work as well as how I’d hoped.

“I thought the lads did well and they stuck to the game plan and tried cut through the team but the scenarios we looked at the positions we hoped to get the ball in just didn’t quite happen for us.

Up front there was a new partnership, and Grainger was pleased with his strikers.

“I thought the front two of Scotty and Chaz [Charlie Bowman] were fantastic and worked well together,” he said.

“It’s obviously always nice when you got the likes of Chaz who can come in and put in a 90-minute shift.

“It’s a testament to Chaz and how well he’s been doing to wait for his chance to come along.”

Onto Marske, the manager is well-aware that the hard-working North East outfit could cause Reds problems with their graft and ability tomorrow.

“It’s gonna be a tough game, we know that.

“They’re a good team and they have some good players. They’ve got players who can score goals at any time and we know we’re gonna have to be at our very best to get a result.

“We know that they’ll be thinking the same as well. It sets up for a fantastic match between two very good teams.

“It’s two teams that are chasing the same goal; trying to get promoted or win the championship.”

Kick-off tomorrow is 3pm.