As the rigours of the season begin to take their toll on his players, Macc Town manager Gary Simpson has recruited two familiar faces.

Chesterfield loan striker Scott Boden has extended his stay at the Moss Rose by another month. The 21-year-old has looked sharp, often operating as a lone forward, but hasn’t found the net in his five games so far.

And Simpson has raided the Spireites ranks to bring defender/midfielder Dan Gray back to the club he served so well last season.

Gray, also 21, made 20 appearances for the Silkmen in the last campaign. He made his debut for Macc on New Year’s Day and scored in a 2-2 draw at Bury.

Used primarily as a right-back, Simpson also utilised Gray in the centre of midfield last season and has similar plans in mind for him this season.

"We’ve extended Scotty’s loan by another month and brought Dan in just to cover us a little bit and make sure we’re not short in there for a few weeks.

"Scotty Kay is struggling with toe and thigh problems and Lewis Chalmers had to come off with his groin on Saturday.

"Tony Diagne came off with a sore hamstring – we think it’s not as bad as we first feared but he’ll be out for a week or two – and Arnaud Mendy’s away again, so we’re a bit light in midfield."

Although Boden has fired blanks in his short time with Macc, Simpson backed his fellow Sheffielder to come good.

"Strikers have runs like that," he said. "The kid’s getting in the positions, he’s neat and tidy and he just needs a goal, if he gets one he’ll probably go on and get three or four."

As strong favourites Macc have a thankless task ahead of them as the FA Cup gets under way at East Thurrock United on Saturday, and the manager is determined that ITV, having brought the kick-off forward to 2pm in order to feature the match, won’t be treated to the shock they have made plans to broadcast.

"The reports I’ve had are that they’re a decent footballing team, they try to play it about and they’re good in midfield, especially out wide. We’ll just prepare like we normally do and if we can do a professional job then we’ve got a good chance of going through."