STEVE Parry has twigged the secret of maintaining Clitheroe's splendid FA Vase record - stop Darren Twigg.

The big Newcastle Town striker stands between the Blues and a place in the fourth round of the competition.

Town are hot on the heels of Vauxhall Motors at the top of the First North Western Trains League, but have games in hand.

Clitheroe are only one point behind Newcastle in third place but, of course, league form goes out of the window in 'do-or-die' Cup football.

That hasn't prevented Parry doing his homework and Clith- eroe have had their Potteries opponents watched on two occasions in recent weeks.

And, Parry has also seen Newcastle in action at St Helens and Rossendale earlier in the season.

He has seen enough to realise that the front two of Twigg and his younger and quicker partner Dean Cunningham pose a formidable threat.

He said: "Twigg has a wealth of experience, having played in the Conference with Leek.

"He is the target man, with Cunningham playing off him.

"In one of the games that I saw, Cunningham was missing but, when they were together, it made a big difference to the side."

Cunningham notched twice in the recent 3-0 win at Abbey Hey, following a goal the previous week against Cheadle, and Parry is aware that Newcastle use the strike pair to launch quick breaks from midfield.

However, that passing style of football should suit Clitheroe, who are at their best with the ball on the deck.

And the big flat Newcastle pitch should also play into the hands of Parry's men.

But, as well as worrying about the opposition, Parry has his own problems to consider. Darren Norman and Andrew Cowking are back after work commitments prevented them from turning out in last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Vauxhall Motors in the FNWTL Challenge Cup clash.

Brian Welch, however, broke down early on in that game, although he struggled on until well into the second half.

The problem has now been diagnosed as knee cartilage damage, made worse by playing on for more than a year.

Welch now faces surgery and is almost certain to miss tomorrow's clash.

Parry also lost two centre halves at Vauxhall and, although he expects Barry Hart to have recovered from a damaged knee, the chances of Gary Rishton's ankle ligament problem having cleared aren't as good.

So Parry was today trying to bring in reinforcements for his squad to cover for any absentees. That is a measure of how much the Vase means to Clitheroe, who appeared in the Wembley final just three years ago.

Parry added: "This is another important cup game for us.

"Before Saturday we were unbeaten in eight or nine games, including some good wins against top of the league teams.

"So we want to start that run again.

"Clitheroe have this affinity with the Vase, so we are keen to do well and are going into it with a lot of confidence."

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