John Askey's in no doubt that two of his young guns deserve their national team call-ups.

Macc Town right-back Andy Halls has once again been named in Paul Fairclough's England C squad, to take on Cyprus Under-21s a week on Tuesday.

Halls made his Three Lions debut in Turkey in October and kept his place when the team took on Estonia's Under-23s.

And can show his mate the ropes when he'll be joined by all-action midfielder Paul Lewis on the plane to Larnaca. The former Everton youth has missed three months of the season with a broken collarbone but he's now back for Macc and earning the recognition the manager says he too deserves.

"I'm pleased for them, they definitely deserve their call-ups," insists Askey.

"It shows that the team, and particularly Paul and Hallsy, are doing something right. It's something that adds value to them and gets them noticed, as well as being an honour. Fortunately for us they're both contracted to the end of the season as they're both under 23.

“Paul's had a really good season, I brought him in from Everton when he was 16 and I've seen him come on loads in the last four years, as a person and as a footballer.

“He turned 20 recently and I can see how much he's matured over the last couple of years, he's a popular lad around the squad as well. it worked out quite well for us that he stepped up when Danny Whitaker was out for so long with his back problem and when Paul got his injury Danny was available again.

Halls has already represented England last autumn

“And Hallsy's come on a lot this season too, he's already played for England C and even though he's still young (Halls will be 23 in April) he's very experienced, I think he was playing for Stockport County as a 17-year-old in League One, so he seems to have been on the scene for a long time now.

"He's showing the benefit of having a full pre-season, which he didn't have last year. He's made two goals in our last two games as well as contributing to our defensive record, which has been great this year.

“They've both worked really hard and they're both still improving.”

Also in the 16-man squad are Halifax Town's James Bolton, a former Macclesfield youngster, and Dover's Stefan Payne, who made one substitute appearance for Steve King's side two years ago.