Weekend Briefing

Gaffer Tracker

Neal Ardley Notts County

Neal Ardley has swapped life in the lower reaches of Sky Bet League One for life towards the bottom of Sky Bet League Two after agreeing to take the reins at Notts County.

He was largely successful in his six-year spell in charge of Wimbledon, steering them to a League Two playoff final success in May 2016 and establishing them in the third tier.

A sharp downturn in results – nine defeats in ten league games - led to Ardley's departure from Wimbledon this month but his overall contribution to the Wombles was positive and suggests he will be a good choice for County, who have parted company with two managers - Kevin Nolan and Harry Kewell - in the first four months of the season.

Sol Campbell Macclesfield

Sol Campbell once described himself as 'one of the greatest minds in football' but starts his managerial career right at the bottom of the EFL, having been appointed by Sky Bet League Two strugglers Macclesfield.

The former England international was looking on from the stands as Macc claimed a precious 1-0 victory at Exeter on Tuesday, lifting them to within four points of safety.

It was Macclesfield's second successive victory but many more will be needed if they are to stave off the drop.

Campbell could not have picked a much tougher introduction to management and if he succeeds it could pave the way for a post higher up the ladder.

Injury briefing

More good news for Magpies

Newcastle climbed to 13th, their highest placing this season, after winning 2-1 at Burnley on Monday and there was more good news for Rafa Benitez this week with five players closing in on first-team returns.

Jonjo Shelvey, Yoshinori Muto, Jamaal Lascelles, James Sterry and Karl Darlow have taken part in full training this week, putting them in contention for Saturday's clash at home to West Ham.

Only Shelvey was deemed fit enough for a place on the bench at Turf Moor.

But Benitez will have a stronger squad to select from for the West Ham game with only Florian Lejeune (knee) in the treatment room.

Gills look stretched for Slough test

Gillingham boosted their League One survival hopes with a 2-1 victory away to fellow strugglers Bristol Rovers on Tuesday but it came at a cost with centre-back Gabriel Zakuani suffering an injury and midfielder Callum Reilly picking up a 70th-minute red card, ruling them out of the FA Cup clash at Slough on Sunday.

Zakuani limped off after 15 minutes and will be a major loss if he fails to recover in time.

The DR Congo international has started 18 of Gillingham's 20 league matches this season and his absence could mean a rejig with left-back Bradley Garmston coming into the side and Connor Ogilvie sliding across to centre-back.

Riley, who serves a one-game ban, has been less influential but he played a key role in midweek by scoring the Gills' decisive second goal.

Scunny are short-handed

Problems are piling up for Scunthorpe, who may struggle to fill their bench for Sunday's FA Cup tie at Shrewsbury.

They had only six substitutes for Tuesday's 2-0 loss at Southend, including Yasin El-Mhanni and Clayton Lewis, who came off the bench to make their first league appearances of the season.

Influential midfielders Funso Ojo and Matt Lund were among the injured absentees and Scunny's task became even more difficult when defender James Perch was dismissed in the 38th minute.

Perch serves a one-game suspension but there was some good news in midweek with winger Josh Morris returning to the side and completing a full 90 minutes on his return from injury.

Latics lose two

Oldham continue their FA Cup challenge with a second-round trip to Maidstone but they will be without influential midfielder Dan Gardner and veteran centre-forward Ishmael Miller, who failed to finish the Latics' 1-1 draw at home to Lincoln on Tuesday night.

Gardner collapsed with an unspecified injury and was treated on the pitch for several minutes, while Miller was shown a red card just before half-time.

Miller must serve a three-game ban and a longer absence is reportedly in store for Gardner, who is unlikely to feature again this year.

However, Oldham are boosted by the availability of top scorer Sam Surridge, who has fully recovered from injury and is set to start his first game since early October.

Dons dented despite win

MK Dons returned to the top of the Sky Bet League Two table by winning 2-0 at home to Morecambe but sustained a couple of major blows with centre-back Jordan Moore-Taylor (knee) and attacker Chuks Aneke (muscle strain) suffering injuries which forced them off the pitch.

The Dons do not play again until next weekend but will be sweating on the fitness of Moore-Taylor because they are short of numbers in central defence.

Joe Walsh is not ready to return from injury and Mathieu Baudry has suffered multiple injuries and is still nowhere near full fitness, according to Dons' manager Paul Tisdale.

Defence will be Tisdale's main area of concern but he will also be keen to assess the status of Aneke, who has netted ten goals since September.

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