By Brian Bennett

Ashington go into Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup tie against local rivals North Shields at
Woodhorn Lane with manager Ian Skinner warning his squad that they face a tough
opponent.

However the boss said at the weekend that the prolonged run which his side enjoyed
last season – where they reached the last qualifying round before exiting the competition
away to National League North side King’s Lynn – will have no bearing this time round:
“The run we had was fantastic but we have almost a completely different squad this
season so it will have no bearing this time round,” said Skinner, “We have got a tough
draw – albeit we are pleased that we are at home – and we’ll be making sure that we are
prepared and ready to go. We have got one or two players unavailable but make no
mistake about it, the lads will know the importance of the game and come Saturday we’ll
make sure that we pick what we believe to be the best squad and best side which can
hopefully get us a positive result.”

Kick off is 3pm.