KARL Marginson firmly believes that his FC United side will challenge for the Unibond Premier League title this season.

The Rebels are currently 19th in the table but have up to six games in hand on other teams due to their success in cup competitions and postponements.

And Marginson says that their league position means nothing at this stage of the campaign.

“We’re not looking at the table because we know we’re in a false position,” said the manager.

“League position might be relevant in the Premier League at this stage but not in our division. If anyone ends up finishing above us, they’ll be champions,” he added.

FC host league leaders Retford United at Gigg Lane on Saturday (3pm), and Marginson thinks the game represents an ideal opportunity for his players to show their title-winning credentials.

“All the pressure is on Retford because they come here top of the league and they know that we’ll be there or thereabouts come April,” he said.

“We had a similar situation when we went to Ashton in the FA Trophy. They were top of the league then and we put in a great performance to beat them, so hopefully we can do the same against Retford.”

Marginson also hailed his players’ efforts in bowing out of the Challenge Cup at Kendal on Tuesday, and reckons their exit may prove to be a blessing in disguise.

“It was a terrible pitch and credit has to got to both sides for trying to play football because it was an entertaining game that was typical of our season really - we had no luck in front of goal and made a few small, individual errors at the back which have cost us.

“Any trophy means something so we were disappointed to lose, but the Challenge Cup has no great attraction to anyone because of the finances involved - it’s an expensive afterthought really.

“But on the positive side, the game was a great workout for the lads and far better for them than a training session.”

Tweet