Two familiar faces could be in the Ashton United team to kick off the new NPL Premier Division season at Borough Park on Saturday.
Cole Lonsdale was actually signed for Reds from Clitheroe by Danny Grainger during his firstspell with the club.
The other ex-Reds player in the squad is goalkeeper Luke Simpson who joined Workington on loan from Oldham Athletic during the 2013/14 season.
It was the season when Reds used nine different keepers and Simpson figured six times.
He has had a number of clubs since then at League and non-League level, including Leicester, Accrington, Watford and Wrexham but probably most eye-catchingly a televised FA Cup appearance for Kidderminster against West Ham in 2022.
They were all in the Ashton squad last night which beat a Burnley Academy X1 2-0 at Hurst’s Cross to complete their pre-season programme.
Significantly though the squad also contained a number of trialists as manager Steve Cunningham continues to weigh-up his options ahead of the opening game against Workington.
Ashton had won 2-1 at Runcorn Linnets on Saturday when Lonsdale started but Potts and Simpson were not in the squad.
Cunningham, however, made a decision on one of his trialists ahead of last night’s game when he announced that he was signing one of his former players at Buxton, attacking midfielder Chris Dawson.
Ashton appointed Cunningham, 43, as manager in January this year as he made a return to football after a successful spell in charge of Buxton whom he led to the NPL Premier Division title in 2021/22 before leaving the game.
Previously he had been in charge at Curzon Ashton after a long stint as manager of Colne where he had been a player.
