Warhurst, who has played hundreds of games in the top flight for Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers, will go straight into the squad for the crucial relegation "six pointer" at Macclesfield tomorrow. The 34-year-old started his career at Manchester City in the late 1980s alongside current Cumbrians' boss Paul Simpson, who is delighted to have completed the signing of the player who he hopes will provide the last piece in the jigsaw as United try to avoid the big drop. Warhurst's signing means the Cumbrians have been transformed since the start of last season when they fielded more under-21 players than any other side in the Third Division. The current squad is more of a "Dad's Army" in comparison, with 37-year-old Simpson, Andy Preece (36), Tom Cowan (34), Paul Raven (33) and Kevin Gray (32) already amongst the players who Warhurst will be joining in the relegation battle. Macclesfield kick off eight points above United in 22nd spot, having climbed a position on Tuesday night without playing. Darlington's 2-1 home defeat to Northampton, in which they finished with 10 men, dropped them back down into the relegation places after a run of three straight wins had hauled them out of the mire. Simpson believes United need to win around eight of their remaining 15 games to stand a good chance of survival and knows victory at the Moss Rose is practically essential if they are to pull off one the greatest escapes in football history. The Cumbrians were 16 points adrift of safety on the morning of December 20 - now that gap has been halved. It will be cut to just five points if they can defeat the Silkmen tomorrow. The manager's main concern will be whether he can keep striker Matty Fryatt on another month's loan. The 17-year-old Walsall striker comes to the end of his second month at Brunton Park after tomorrow's game and Simpson is hoping Saddlers boss Colin Lee will let him have another month with United. "He can play for us tomorrow and if there was going to be a problem about keeping him here, I would have thought Colin would have contacted me," he said. "I know he has missed a couple of chances but Matty has done very well for us. He needs to keep getting into good situations. I don't mind if he misses a few, the problem occurs if he stops getting into goalscoring positions." Foran to be shown door after assault charges Carlisle's bad boy Richie Foran looks likely to have played his final game for the Cumbrians after police pressed charges against him over an incident in Mood night club last Saturday night. A 24-year-old man made allegations that a United player headbutted him during the early hours of the morning and now Foran has been charged with assault. The 23-year-old Dublin-born striker had already been dropped, along with team-mate Des Byrne, from the party that travelled to Cambridge on Tuesday evening and manager Paul Simpson indicated he would not play for the club again. He is out of contract at the end of the season and only last week came back from a one-month loan spell with Oxford United. He has been bailed to appear before magistrates on February 24. |
