SATURDAY’S trip to league leaders Marine is “a free shot” for Warrington Rylands, manager Dave McNabb says.

Should they win in Crosby, third-place Blues will close to within two points of their hosts in the Northern Premier League West Division table, albeit having played a game more.

Leaving Merseyside with three points will be no mean feat, however, given Marine have won nine of their 10 home games this season and regularly attract crowds of more than 1,000.

While McNabb played down his side’s hopes of overhauling their hosts, he will be keen to ensure they keep those below them at bay.

Rylands have a six-point cushion inside the play-off places but have fellow hopefuls Leek Town and Runcorn Linnets – both of whom have beaten them in recent weeks – breathing down their necks.

“I think it’s a free shot for us,” McNabb said of Saturday’s game.

“As it stands, Workington will probably believe they can catch Marine and they may do as they have to play each other still but for us, our ambition at the start of the season was to make the play-offs.

“We’re not expected to win on Saturday, so our thought process is let’s go there and try to win.”

The game is likely to come too soon for influential midfielder Joe Coveney to return from injury while the likes of Joe Bunney and Akeel Francis are also expected to miss out.

In order to boost his squad, McNabb moved to bring in David Webb from Nantwich Town and the midfielder marked his debut in style with a stunning injury-time winner as a substitute against Mossley on Saturday.

 

David Webb celebrates scoring his superb winner against Mossley on Saturday. Picture by Mark Percy

David Webb celebrates scoring his superb winner against Mossley on Saturday. Picture by Mark Percy

 

The Blues boss says Webb’s versatility will make him a big asset as the season comes to a crunch.

“I think he’s a different option for us,” he said.

“He can play in two or three different positions – maybe even four as cover at full-back.

“He can play through down the spine of the team, he’s got bags of energy – he’s probably the fittest lad we’ve got in the group – and he’s got real quality, as we saw on Saturday.

“We’re carrying quite a few injuries to big, big players at the minute and we felt we needed more options in there.

“What we have now is a squad that’s a little bit stronger than it was.”