Clitheroe travel to National League high flyers Scunthorpe United on Saturday afternoon as they take on the Lincolnshire side in the FA Trophy fourth round, with the Blues looking to extend their historic run in the competition.
Coming into this, Clitheroe have had some turbulent form of late, with Sean McConville’s men failing to register a league win since the end of November.
Despite this, the Blues did well to earn a hard-fought point at home to Atherton Collieries last time out.
Scunthorpe, on the other hand, have been in prolific form, with The Iron winning their last five games in all competitions while averaging just under three goals a game. A form that Clitheroe will need to be very wary of.
In the last round of the FA Trophy, the Blues faced a similar side to Scunthorpe as they produced a historic victory over York City, winning 4-3 on penalties at the Loom Loft Stadium. As for the home side, although they have not won the trophy before, they are one of the favourites to win it as they are the fourth highest ranking team left in the competition. Despite this, Scunthorpe may wish to concentrate on the league more as they look to return to the Football League after being relegated in 2022.
Speaking ahead of the fixture, McConville expressed his excitement at the occasion and its significance for the club.
“I’m really looking forward to this one, it’s going to be a great day for everybody involved at the club. The fans, the staff, the players especially have all earned this. We are going to travel in numbers, make ourselves heard and I think the fans are going to embrace the occasion.”
Although McConville is excited for the game he remained grounded with the challenge his team faces.
“It’s certainly going to be a tough game; there is no denying that. But we’re going to give it a good go and give everything we’ve got. We have been working really hard recently and put a lot of preparation into this one.”
This didn’t stop the Blues boss from backing his team as he predicted a positive outcome.
“Absolutely anything is possible,” he added. “Just look at the last round, a lot of people ruled us out before the game yet we ended up beating one of the best sides in the competition. Who is to say that can’t happen again?”
Clitheroe will go into Saturday’s tie as underdogs, but with recent history on their side, the Blues will travel to Lincolnshire believing another memorable chapter could yet be written.
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