By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner said he was both ‘disappointed and frustrated’ after Saturday’s away trip to face Northallerton was called off due to high winds amid Storm Malik – but was nevertheless emphatic in his thoughts that the right decision was made.

Skinner said: “Whilst I was disappointed and frustrated, I think common sense prevailed.  Ideally we wanted the game to be on but we didn’t want to travel for it (the match) to be called off down there. We’d had a good training session on Thursday in preparation and we’ll have another two sessions this week – but because we lost both of our last two matches against Sunderland Ryhope CW and North Shields, it means our pensive mood will linger for more than ten days. However, our focus will switch to the visit of West Allotment Celtic to Woodhorn Lane on Saturday (February 5) as we look – and hope – to return to winning ways in front of our fantastic supporters.”

On the team news front, last weekend’s postponement will give Luke Salmon and goalkeeper Adam McHugh an extra week to get some more fitness under their belts after both have been out of sorts through illness but central defender Curtis Coppen is a doubtful starter due to injury and Max Emmerson and Tom Bramley are still ruled out. Meanwhile a new date has been set for the Northallerton clash in North Yorkshire. The Colliers will now travel on Saturday March 5 and Skinner added: “I’m happy about that especially as it is on a Saturday – but we are away to Redcar Athletic on the Wednesday beforehand, so we’ll be clocking up some miles in the space of a few days!”