Howard and Coyne begin bans

FC United looked to build on the Boxing Day victory with the visit of Newcastle Town on Saturday, but they will be without Josh Howard and Liam Coyne who are both suspended due to being sent off against Quorn in the FA Carlsberg Vase.

Howard misses just one match for his two bookable offences whilst Coyne will have to serve a three match ban after being dismissed for violent conduct. However, manager Karl Marginson is confident that United have the players to cope with both absences.

Margy was extremely pleased with how his team responded to going two goals down against Ramsbottom and he hopes that they can push on now to put a run of victories together.

He said: "The boys showed tremendous character on Boxing Day and, hopefully, it’s a sign that our bad run is now behind us. It’s vital though that we don’t allow our standards to slip once again. We’ll undo all the good work we did against Ramsbottom if we fail to deliver against Newcastle."

As well as Howard and Coyne, Gary Sampson is sidelined with a hamstring problem, but other than that, Margy is should have a full squad to choose from with Matty Taylor hopeful of returning from a leg injury sustained at Flixton.