KENDAL Town manager Steve Edmondson will take to the Parkside Road dugout for the first time today as the Black and Whites welcome Chorley to Cumbria.

A bumper crowd is expected for the visit of 10th-placed Chorley, who have a huge fan base and attracted 408 fans to Parkside Road for the fixture last season.

Officials at the club said that the chief groundsman had been on the pitch with rollers this morning in preparation for the game, which is scheduled to kick off at 3pm.

The Black and Whites have already beaten the Lancastrians 2-1 in the Lancashire FA Co-Operative Challenge Trophy earlier this season, and with manager and former Blackburn Rovers star Garry Flitcroft under pressure having secured just four points out of a possible 21, Edmondson thinks his side are in with a shout of gaining a positive result.

"It's been a baptism of fire for the players over the last few games so we take the positives out of an unlucky defeat to Frickley on Saturday and hopefully we'll get something out of Chorley.

"They're on a bad run so I hope we can inflict some more pain on them on New Year's Day."

After today's match, the Mintcakes embark on a tough schedule of fixtures in January, which includes playing first, second and third in the Evo-Stik Premier Division in the shape of North Ferriby United, Marine and Hednesford Town.

The match today is Kendal's first home game since a 5-0 loss to Stocksbridge Park Steels on November 10.