Andy White: Confidence is high ahead of FC United test

Warrington Town left-back Andy White says the Yellows must be on top of their game if they want to extend their recent unbeaten run away at FC United of Manchester this weekend. 

The Yellows have won three and drawn five of their last eight league matches. 

Such form has seen them return to the play-off places, and they could finish the weekend as high as third in the Northern Premier League table, depending on the outcome of the day’s other matches.

On Saturday, they will be out for revenge against an FC United side that ran out 1-0 winners at Cantilever Park in the reverse fixture back in September.

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“These are the games that you look forward to the most because when there is a big crowd there the atmosphere is much better,” White said.

“Going away to FC United – what more motivation do you want than going to play in front of their fans? Hopefully we can silence them.

“Looking back, Warrington got the result there last season so we’re full of confidence and hopefully we can put on a good performance in front of a big crowd.

“Like the Rylands game where there was a brilliant atmosphere, we’ve got the experience to handle these bigger occasions.”

FC United are currently on the fringes of the play-offs and would leapfrog the Yellows with victory at Broadhurst Park this weekend. 

They have a number of danger men in their ranks, including talented forward Regan Linney who has netted a league-high 20 goals this season. 

On what the Yellows can expect, White added: “We’ve already played them this season so we know what they’re all about.

“They are one of the better footballing sides in the league, so they’re always going to be a threat. If we’re not tight at the back, they have every opportunity to open us up.

“They’ve got a lot of energy too: up front, in the wide areas – you’ve just got to look at the result that they had against Hyde United, which finished 4-4. 

“They have very dangerous players so we need to be on our game to contain them.

“On the flipside, we’ve just got to look at the players that we have too. We’ve been creating chances for fun recently, so if we can just keep it tight in defence, I’m confident that we can go there and get a result.”

Mark Beesley’s side head into Saturday five points adrift of joint-leaders Hyde United and South Shields, although the Mariners have played significantly fewer matches than many of the teams around them. 

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Despite having ground to make up, White still believes the squad can realistically target automatic promotion if they continue to string results together during the second half of the campaign.

“We’re in the play-offs and we want to stay there,” the 30-year-old said. “This is now the business end of the season, so the only thing that matters is getting the result.

“We have been playing really well, putting in good performances and sometimes we haven’t got the result that we deserved.

“In this situation now, it’s so important that we start getting those results to keep ourselves in the play-offs. We’re still looking up at the top places and we’re not going to give up yet, but we just need to go on a great run now.”