Crowe aims to butcher Brig's Bloods hoodoo

Brig have not had a great run at the Bloods in recent years but Crowe is hoping his second-placed NPL First Division North side, who travel to Droylsden on the back of three straight wins, can end their grisly run at the Butcher’s Arms Ground.

Crowe said: “We have never really done well at Droylsden so we are hoping to break that hoodoo.

“On paper they have got some good players there.

“They have had a mixed bag of results so far.

“We are full of confidence after our last three results.”

Brig’s three wins on the spin over Ossett Albion, Lancaster City and Goole have helped them climb to second in the table.

But Crowe is not getting too carried away.

He said: “We’ve only lost once and drawn one league game and the others we have won so far.

“But it is early in the season so we are not getting carried away with it but we’d rather be in the top half looking down than the other way round.

Michael Potts is back from suspension and former Blackpool midfielder Jamie Milligan returned to the squad last Saturday but Glenn Steel is still missing.

But despite a number of players returning to his ranks Crowe is not planning on changing his current winning formula.

He said: “There is a long way to go but the squad is looking alright and we have one or two players returning.

“But the lads are doing well and you don’t change something that is not broken.”

Brig winger Alistair Waddecar is waiting to have the extent of his knee injury diagnosed. But fortunately it is not the same knee that hampered him last term.

Crowe said: “Our first impression is that he will be out for a month but we are not sure we are still waiting for it to be diagnosed. He is a big player for us and he is a big miss.”