Celtic?s next opponents in the FA Trophy are Whitby Town, visiting the Fold on Saturday (kick-off 3pm). Whitby got to this stage after narrowly beating Marine with a replay at the Turnbull. They have not lost for eleven games and are currently third in the Unibond Premier with a game in hand on second place Farsley, but equal on points.

You?d have to go all the way back to September to reach their last away defeat, at the hands of Spennymoor United. Indeed, they have lost only four of their games all season, though they have yet to beat a team from Tameside, drawing their last match against Hyde, and being dumped out of the FA Cup by Mossley (despite being at home). Their biggest away victory was 3-1 in the FA Cup first qualifier against Billingham Synthonia, and their biggest away loss was against Leek in the league, where Leek put four past them without reply.

Out of their last ten away games, the have won three, drawn five and lost two. Over the last ten overall, though, they have won seven and drawn three. Away from home, they have scored in seven of the last ten, but home and away have scored in nine of the last ten, which indicates that their home form is currently excellent, and I would not hold out much hope of Celtic progressing if Whitby can hold Celtic to a draw at Bower Fold forcing the replay.

Their top scorer is Scott Nicholson, with seven goals in all competitions (not bad for a central midfield player), and it was he who grabbed the winner against Marine in the Trophy. Anthony Omerod, Steve Johnson and Graham Robinson all deserve watching as well, with fifteen goals between them. Away from home, they score 1.4 goals per game, and concede 1.1, and they have kept three clean sheets.

The last time the two teams met was last season, in the Unibond Premier, and Whitby beat us 3-1 at Bower Fold (Monk got our consolation), though in the previous three meetings, at the Turnbull and at Bower Fold, Celtic won all three.

Celtic have been steadily improving since the change of manager. Although we have lost two out of three league games, overall under Wraggy we have won 4, drawn 1 and lost 4, including the great victories over Harrogate and Lancaster. And really, had the officials been more consistent, we would have beaten Vauxhall as well. We have scored in every home game this season, though we have also conceded in every home game as well, and if we discount the Vauxhall game (which was a travesty) we have a solid home record under Wraggy, winning them all, though twice we had to leave it very late indeed.

Celtic?s injury list is well documented, with Gregg Pearce, Craig Dootson, Phil Eastwood, and Chris Denham all definitely out. Nathan Wharton is a doubt ahead of the game, and with the long layoff, may only make the bench, even if fit. Whitby, on the other hand, have no serious injury or suspension worries ahead of the game, and will probably line up as they did against Hyde:
1. David Campbell
2. Paul Atkinson
3. Craig Veart
4. Danny Farthing
5. Brian Linighan
6. Scott Nicholson
7. Anthony Omerod
8. Nick Scaife
9. Steve Johnson
10. Liam Gildea
11. Neil Bishop

Interestingly, Liam Gildea has two brothers with Whitby, Alex and Danny, which must be unusual.

With Lee Connor cup-tied having played for Farsley in the Trophy already, Celtic?s line up may consist of:
1. Phil Priestley
2. Dave German
3. Danny Caldecott
4. Terry Bowker
5. Barrie Keeling
6. Paul Sykes
7. Dean Calcutt
8. Kev Parr
9. Andy Hayward
10. Scott Bonsall
11. Steve Smith

Make no mistake about it: this is going to be a tough game. Whitby are organised and quite proficient in scoring goals. They are strongest in the first half (they scored twice in the opening 15 minutes against Hyde), but no slouches in the second period. If we are to progress, we?ll need more than a last ten minute performance, as a draw, given Whitby?s home performances this season, is not something to look forward to.