MARK Came has said he was 'sick' that he didn't get the chance to take charge of his first home game on Saturday.

With interviews for the Winsford United manager's job due to start next week, Came had the ideal match to improve his chances against the UniBond Premier's bottom side.

He now has to wait until this Saturday, when Hyde United visit Barton Stadium, after the Accrington Stanley game was rained off.

The 1-1 draw with leaders Bamber Bridge a week earlier had boosted team morale and a good performance could have enhanced Came as favourite for the post.

He also thinks the confidence gained from the Bamber Bridge match had rubbed off on the supporters and he was expecting a big gate.

The caretaker boss said: "I was very disappointed that it was off.

"I was sick because there's been a lot of interest round the town and, going by the amount of phone calls to see if the game was on or not, a lot of people were going up on Saturday who hadn't been for a while."

Came has been lifted by the attitude of the players during his two weeks in charge, which made Saturday's wash-out all the more gutting.

He said: "When I called the players to stop them travelling up here they were also sick it was off.

"All of them really wanted to play, which was pleasing for me. They were on a high after the Bamber Bridge game. They thought they were going to get beat but they surprised themselves with the way they played.

"If we could have won against Accrington and put in a good performance we would have been better prepared for this weekend's game and more up for it.

"It could also have put a few more people on the gate."

Hyde United will be the usual stern test. They are just a point and a place below Winsford and their visit sees the return of former United manager, Mike McKenzie to Barton Stadium.

Came has no injury problems for the game and is expected to play the same team that drew with the league leaders a week last Saturday.

After next week's interviews for the permanent manager's job, which Mark Came has applied for, Winsford's directors are still hoping to appoint a permanent boss as soon as possible.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.