Fighting on two fronts could see Macclesfield Town’s season fall apart with a potentially exhausting fixture backlog.

Macc’s FA Cup second-round tie at Barrow once again fell foul of the weather yesterday (Tuesday), and the cup and league exploits mean the games are now starting to pile up for manager Steve King and his troops.

Macc are facing a gruelling mid-winter, with five fixtures still to be fulfilled before the end of December and another six – plus the Cheshire Senior Cup tie against Stalybridge Celtic – to come in January.

But King, who was among the countless officials, players and supporters baffled by the original call-off on December 1 little more than an hour before the 3pm kick-off, says he has the players to call upon when he needs to shuffle his pack.

"We’ll need all hands on deck when the fixtures start to pile up," he said after a more considerate early-afternoon postponement.

"We had a clean bill of health in preparation for Barrow but we will be stretched over the next few weeks when the games come thick and fast.

"However, it’s a squad game these days and we’ve got a decent enough squad to cope. We can rotate the players,and we will do because we have to."

The Barrow tie has now been scheduled for Tuesday, December 18 (7.45pm) and with Cardiff City awaiting the winners in round three, it’s becoming a race against time for Macc and Barrow to get this tie in before the new year.

"My only worry at the moment is that we could draw with Barrow next Tuesday, I don’t really know what happens in that situation," added King, who was instead heading for last night’s third-versus-fifth match between Newport and Luton.

"But that’s the hand that we’re being dealt and we have to deal with it the best we can.

"We’ve got a great incentive, we’re doing okay in the league and we’re still in the FA Cup.

"We can still have a really positive ending to the first half of the season."

With bottom side Nuneaton to come on Saturday, a side below Barrow on goal difference alone, King is warning against any complacency, particularly as they needed two late goals to rescue a point against them earlier this season.

"We’ve got tough games coming and we have to respect their abilities," added King.

"It’s harsh to suggest these will be easy. All of these teams can beat you, we’ve got to be on it because they’re both very capable teams.

"If we reach the same standards we had in the second half against Hyde we’ll be okay. If not we could easily be turned over."