By Ethan Hoijord
Mick McGraa spoke about how one of his side’s greatest strengths is now its depth before previewing Saturday’s FA Cup away tie at West Didsbury.
Vauxhall played Marine in their final pre-season friendly, drawing 1-1 on Tuesday night, and two separate teams were put out either side of the break.
Mick admitted “I’ve got a headache of a selection for Saturday going off what I saw tonight as we fielded two different elevens”.
It was a fantastic achievement for The Motormen to lift the North West Counties Premier Division title in May as they battled through issues such as having low numbers, this is something that McGraa now feels to have been changed.
“We were light with numbers last season, it’s important to have strength in depth, it’s what we needed”.
Making the squad stronger is the addition of assistant Alan Morgan, Mick told us what he has been like around the place.
“He brings something different to what we had before. He’s energetic and very thorough, he’s more than brilliant with the lads as they thrive off him. It’s a work in progress that I’m enjoying as our relationship is getting stronger”.
Despite his side picking up some fantastic results during the summer and winning the NWCFL Challenge Cup Final against Congleton, Mick admitted that friendlies don’t count for much.
“The friendlies don’t really mean anything so I’m excited to get back to playing competitive football”.
Now the depth of the team is no longer an issue, Mick wants another issue to be sorted out… his record in the FA Cup.
“We need to do better in the FA Cup as we’ve not won a game since I’ve been here in the competition which is embarrassing. It’s not the be all and end all but it brings in revenue so we’ve got to get a bit of a run in it”.
There is not a better time for this to change as Mick touched on how great this pre-season has been once again.
“I don’t feel like I’ve had a pre season this good before, we look strong, very fit and the squad is getting bigger”.
As always, your support for The Motormen is appreciated thus we look forward to seeing you at The Step Places Stadium this weekend!