Lions out for sweet revenge

England boss on a Welsh mission

By Jon Couch

WE’RE UP FOR IT: Armani Little in action for England C in their 4-0 defeat by Wales C 12 months ago

PICTURE: David Loveday

PAUL Fairclough admits he is still “deeply hurt” by England C’s humbling by Wales C last time out – so he’s cleared the decks ready for a revenge mission!

Fairclough’s Young Lions crashed to a 4-0 defeat to the Dragons in their last fixture in Caernarfon 12 months ago.

Now the Home Nations rivals are due to lock horns for the reverse clash at Altrincham‘s Moss Lane on March 21 – and Fairclough has a brand new plan in place to get his Lions roaring again.

The former Barnet and Stevenage boss – overseeing his 21st year as England C chief – has selected a 25-man provisional squad made up of one player from each of the 24 National League clubs, plus Worthing goalkeeper Harrison Male.

Dynamic

Faiclough, 73, says his plan is designed to not only ease the burden of top clubs losing a cluster of key players during this crucial stage of the season, but also to integrate a new, dynamic squad for the future.

Solihull Moors’ Joe Sbarra is the only player already capped, while, at 26, Notts County’s 32-goal striker Macaulay Langstaff is the oldest member of the squad, which has an average age of 23, compared to 27 this time last year.

“It’s the first time I’ve selected a squad on this basis,” Fairclough told The NLP.

“I’ve been doing this for 21 years and I know the pressures on clubs at this time of year, no matter how high in the pyramid they are.

“I’m mindful that this is a tremendously important time of the season so I’ve decided to select just the one player from each National League team so no manager is affected more than any other.

“It will make team bonding more necessary within the squad, but that is what England C is all about. It helps form friends for life. I know players still close friends 20 years later, that bond stays with you.”

SHAKE ON IT: Bosses Paul Fairclough, left, and Mark Jones

Fairclough’s squad is littered with Non- League’s top per- formers this sea- son – now he’s hoping they can step up to take on Mark Jones’ Dragons in a fortnight’s time with revenge on the agenda.

“I woke up today and that result back in November still hurts deeply,” Fairclough added. “And that had an effect on this squad too.

Challenges

“We had a lot of problems with injuries and availability in the build-up to that game, but that team was good enough to have won that game. Six of them are now playing in the Football League!

“This is an important game for us. There is no such things as a friendly, we are playing for pride and for a trophy against a Wales team with a tremendous manager, experienced backroom team and quality players. It’s going to be tough, but we believe we have a squad to overcome those challenges.

“To get into the final squad of 16, the players are going to have to perform these next few weeks and that can only benefit their clubs also. They have that extra bit of incentive of winning an England cap which no-one can ever take away from them.”