Andy Cannon is in line to get a first start for Stockport County this week following his shock move from Championship side Hull City last week. The dynamic midfielder came off the bench in the closing stages of Saturday’s 2-0 away win at Eastleigh to get his first outing for the Hatters.
County chief Dave Challinor says Cannon will likely start against Crewe Alexandra at Edgeley Park in a Cheshire County Cup game on Tuesday evening ahead of Saturday’s FA Trophy trip to promotion rivals Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground. Cannon – who last featured for the Tigers against Birmingham City in November – has struggled to make an impact at the MKM Stadium since his free transfer move from Portsmouth last summer, though he had been suffering from a freak training ground injury in recent days.
Cannon explained his reasoning for opting to drop down to the fifth-tier of English football was to get regular football, but with Stockport flying at the top of the league, that would appear to be no easy task and he’ll be keen to impress on Tuesday evening.
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“I think Andy’s ready for 90 minutes, we’ll find out on Tuesday because he’ll be involved with that,” Challinor told the club’s YouTube channel.
Saturday’s win was Stockport’s 20th in their last 21 games as they notched up a ninth successive away win to set a new club record, and with them on the cusp of a stunning title victory and return to the football league, breaking into a team playing at the top of its game will not be easy for Cannon or his fellow deadline day signings, says Challinor.
“If it takes a little bit of time (to get up to match speed), it takes a little bit of time because we’re not in a mad rush,” he said.
“They’re coming into a squad which has won 20 games out of 21, so it wasn’t a case of bringing them in to go and rip up the playbook of what we’ve done over the last three months. They will only add to what we’ve got in the building but we think they’ll add quality and depth to what is already a good squad.”
