Iron provided with boosts ahead of Crawley game

First team manager Neil Cox has provided an update on team news and previewed the home Sky Bet League Two encounter against Crawley Town on Saturday.

United host John Yems' side boosted by their performance against league leaders Forest Green Rovers last weekend at the Sands Venue Stadium, which they lost after a contentious penalty decision turned the game, and then an away draw at Barrow in midweek.

There has also been positive news on the injury and illness front, as Cox explained to iFollow Iron: "Mason O'Malley had his report back today and there's no break, which is good news because he had a really badly bruised leg/ankle.

"Hopefully we're looking at two-to-three weeks, he's still in a boot at the moment but it's good news because we were fearing the worst for him as it was really badly bruised. He's been in the gym this morning, boosted by the good news.

"Harry Davis (head) has had stitches again and won't be available for this week, though we're hoping he might be next week. We're just waiting for the specialist to get back to us. We're looking at protective head gear for him to wear, and trying to find the right one. We'll go with the right one when we're allowed to.

"Dev (Green) missed out with a dead leg on Tuesday night but has been back training this morning and has declared himself fit, which is good, as we've been short of bodies. Bunny (Harry Bunn) has come through training this morning, training fully (after some bad bruising above the knee following a bad challenge at Newport), while Alex Perry (groin) has too, so they and Dev come back into contention for the weekend.

"Alex Kenyon (thigh) has trained at full blast this morning as well. We'll try and play an in-house game next week to get some minutes into him, and then we'll have a look at him there. He's been out since we played Rochdale in August and he will boost us.

"It looks like we're on the other side of it now with the illness that went around the camp in the last week, and taking precaution on the way up to Barrow was the right thing to do. Everyone is fine and come in with no problems today.

"Alfie (Beestin), Ross (Millen) and Myles (Hippolyte) have struggled with it but it's good news again after getting the point the other night.

"It's a big positive that we're starting to get people fit."

Focusing on the home game against Crawley, who sit 14th in the division at present, Cox added: "They were really unlucky with the sending off (of Ashley Nadesan) against Exeter in their last game (which they lost 3-1). The first booking was never a yellow.

"It'll be a tough game for us but we've had two good games, where we played really well against Forest Green and got a point away at Barrow. Hopefully it's onwards and upwards.

"The supporters saw the effort and clapped us off last weekend, while the fans who travelled on Tuesday night really got behind us and we now need to start looking forward with more belief and up the league."

See much more from Neil Cox and Lewis Thompson on iFollow Iron.