Robbie Savage full of praise for Gainsborough Trinity after Macclesfield victory
After seeing his Macclesfield side run out 4-0 winners over the Holy Blues at the weekend, Silkmen manager Robbie Savage was full of praise for hosts Gainsborough Trinity.
It was the former Premier League midfielder's first trip to the famous old Northolme ground, and the 50-year-old was impressed with the set-up and welcome afforded to him and his side.
“They’re a good side, but because they are having such a great cup run, they have got lots of games in hand,” he said.
“With two games a week, they got a little bit tired, but Russ (boss Wilcox) has done an unbelievable job here.
“I have to say, the football club, how they welcomed us, from the staff, to the fans, from the boardroom was magnificent - what a friendly football club.”
Posing for photos, and joining in with the Gainsborough Trinity U11s warm-up pre-game, the ex Leicester City and Derby County star certainly made time for his hosts.
The former Wales international added: “I hope Gainsborough go on and have success in the Trophy. “We had the run in the Trophy last year, and it catches up on you.
“It’s a balancing act, so I want to pay them huge credit. They’re a very, very good side, but on our day, we can do what we did to anyone.
“At half-time, we had to change things because they were causing us one or two problems and we had to try to nullify their threat.
“But Gainsborough is a fantastic club, who I can’t speak highly enough of.
“Russ and Kevin Pressman, who I played against in the Premier League, are good people – and I hope they go on and win the FA Trophy.
“We know how close we came last year – how the games go Saturday-Tuesday and you have to use your whole squad. And that was difficult, even with the squad we had.”
With Savage’s side now two-thirds of the way through their campaign, with just the league to focus on, it’s stark contrast to Gainsborough, who are still fighting on the aforementioned Isuzu FA Trophy front, but are also only midway through the same league campaign, as the well-backed Silkmen.
However, when the whistle blew for the match to start, the pantomime villain came to life as Savage became a shaken bottle of pop, ready to explode at any moment.
Perhaps the only thing missing was a typical Savage booking after he went head to head with the referee at one stage.