Rangers missing six for FA Cup tie

Stafford Rangers will be without six players when they go to AFC Wulfrunians in the FA Cup first qualifying round.

Defender Ryan Dicker and Glynn Blackhurst were both forced off against Rushall Olympic on Tuesday night and will miss out tomorrow, with ankle and calf injuries respectively.

Midfielder Kevin Street and left-winger Jon Sheldon sat out that game with groin and knee problems and are not fit enough to return.

Rangers will also be missing Sam Johnson and Andy White, who cannot play under the terms of their loans from Port Vale and Crewe respectively.

But Danny Read should be back to replace Johnson in goal after a hip injury, while Dan Skelton fills in for White at left-back after an ankle problem.

Rangers manager Greg Clowes has vowed to pull out all of the stops to get through to the second qualifying round, which is worth £3,000 to the club.

Clowes nearly made it to the first round proper with Newcastle Town last season, losing at Vauxhall Motors in the fourth qualifying round, and is targeting a run with Rangers.

He said: "There's going to be changes, because I have got to make them, but I have promised that I will play the strongest team available to me.

"I would be foolish to take this game lightly, I have had teams where we have been the underdogs and silly things can happen in the FA Cup.

"There's a lot of money at stake, it's a great journey and I would love to go on a run with Stafford. No-one wants that more than me."

Wulfrunians play three leagues below Rangers in the West Midlands Premier Division and play at Wolves' former training ground, Castlecroft.

But Rangers have been dumped out of the FA Cup by the likes of Coventry Sphinx and Coalville in recent years, so Clowes is wary of an upset.

He said: "We have got everything to lose - if we win, it's expected and, if we lose, we will get hammered, so we have to respect them.

"I am looking for a disciplined and professional performance from my players, not an abundance of skill, they are the main things on the agenda.

"Castlecroft is a nice tidy ground for us to go there and do what we have got to do."