Long queues have been forming of Silkmen fans wanting to buy tickets for Macclesfield's clash with Wigan next week.

The Silkmen – making their first appearance at the fourth-round stage of the competition – will entertain Roberto Martinez’s Wigan on Saturday, January 26, after Latics beat Bournemouth 1-0 at Dean Court to set up a north-west derby against Steve King’s men.

News of a money-spinning cup clash provided a silver lining for Macc following last night’s 2-0 league defeat at Dartford, where their four-game unbeaten run came to an end. The Silkmen had won three of their previous four matches – including their heroic FA Cup third-round victory over Cardiff City – and were looking to close the gap between themselves and the play-off chasing pack.

On Twitter this morning, fans reported waiting in freezing conditions to get their hands on tickets.

@kickingkay88 tweeted: " Freezin in que for macclesfield + stoke away tickets", while @03wilsonc added: "Cant wait play @thesilkmen mad how we'd all rather go watching Wigan Macclesfield than Wigan United, and

@SamRobinson_33 added: "If I don't get a Macclesfield ticket I am whole heartily vowing to scop someone into the canal. Off a bridge."

At 4pm today, Jon Harris, Macc Town chief executive, said there were just 200 tickets left in the 6,200-capacity stadium.

He said: "This morning we had people queuing from 8.30am in the cold. There were consistently about 30 people queuing this morning.

"This match has really captured Macclesfield's imagination, which is good because I think that wasn't expected when the draw was first made. But everyone is gripped - probably even more so than the match last year with Bolton."

There were similar scenes at the Wigan stadium, with fans desperate to get their hands on their 2,200 away tickets.