Tony Philliskirk has a depleted squad to pick from for tomorrow’s FA Youth Cup second round clash with Morecambe but still confident they can progress through to the third round of the competition.
The reward for the winners of the tie will host Premier League side Bournemouth but Philliskirk is completely concentrated on tomorrow night’s game.
He said: "It’s a Friday night, the main pitch, under floodlights, in front of the watching public and the management staff so it’s a chance for the boys to show them what they are about.
"Morecambe are a full time outfit and have certainly improved over the last few years. They are in a full time programme and we know what they are about as we’ve played them over the last few years. We won’t play them this season because we are in the North East side of the draw but they will be tough opposition, no doubt about it.
"In the past we used to do well against them. As they have gone full time, they have got better and they had a great result last week against Wrexham who were close to winning the league last year.”
Philliskirk’s squad have been blighted by injuries recently, something which is causing the gaffer to scratch his head.
“There are more players in the treatment room than there is on the training field at the moment and I just can’t believe it,” he said.
"I keep all my notes over all the seasons and we are doing nothing different than we have been doing over previous years.
"But with the injuries we are taking one step forward, and one step back as Brendy Glackin, our top goalscorer, has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. He’s going to be out for a while so that’s a kick in the teeth. Brendy missing out is someone else to come to the fore.
"We’ve just got to work with what we’ve got, however. We’ll get the under 16s in and do some game preparation for the game tomorrow. We will have a very young side out and not a lot of preparation will be done so it’s a case of fingers crossed.”
The game takes place tomorrow (Friday, November 27) and kicks off at 7pm.
Here are the admission prices for the game:
Adults: £4
Over 65: £2
Under 18: £2
Supporters will be situated in the George Hill main stand for the game.