Chorley boss Vermiglio says Elliot Newby will be ready for final 12 as Magpies' National League North title quest hots up

Elliot Newby will be back in contention for Chorley’s clash with Ashton United as boss Jamie Vermiglio manages the midfielder’s tight hamstring.
Elliot Newby in action for Chorley at SouthportElliot Newby in action for Chorley at Southport
Elliot Newby in action for Chorley at Southport

Elliot, 23, missed the Magpies’ shock 2-1 defeat at Alfreton on Saturday.Vermiglio says he was omitted from the squad as a precaution as they protected his hamstring with 12 games remaining.The defeat saw the Magpies’ six-point cushion at the top slashed to three by second-placed Stockport County, with Spennymoor seven points behind but with two games in hand.Vermiglio expects Elliot to be back but was impressed with the performance of his replacement Jake Cottrell.He said: “Elliot has struggled over the last four or five weeks with a tight hamstring.“With the amount of effort he gets through in a game he had not trained that week.“It was just a bit of a calculated decision to leave him out and give him a bit of rest time.“We did not want to risk him being out for more games. We were given an opportunity to do that – hopefully he will be all right now to go again.“It was an opportunity for Jake.“It was a different type of game, it was a battle and we felt we wanted to bulk up the midfield a bit“To be fair, it worked. I thought we won the majority of the midfield battles and Jake did really well.“The intention is to get Elliot back involved as soon as we can.”Magpies boss Vermiglio, chairman Ken Wright and the board of directors will be on the panel to answer fans’ questions in the social club at Victory Park from 7pm tonight.And the Chorley boss is looking forward to hearing the fans’ opinions and answering their questions. He said: “It has been a while since we have done a fans’ forum.“I hope they come out in their numbers. I hope that they do to voice their opinions – both positive and negative.“The fans are a big part of our football club and we want them to be involved.“We have shown that with the steps we have taken with the Trust coming on the board.“It is our first fans’ forum since they have become involved so hopefully it will be good.”