Manager Paul Cox has confirmed that both Ben Hutchinson and Chris Clements will be in the squad for Saturday’s Sky Bet League Two match at AFC Wimbledon.
The duo, who have been out of the side through injury in recent weeks, featured in a behind-closed-doors match against Sheffield United earlier this week.
“Both players have trained this week and came through [Tuesday’s match], and both players will be in the squad that travel down to Wimbledon,” said Cox.
“Having said that, it was a good performance by the boys [at Oldham Athletic] last Saturday, and we got back to being structured, organised and everyone knew their role.
“It puts me in a nice position when I’ve got two excellent players that are coming back from injury that I can add to my squad.
“It all points to positives and hopefully we can get a positive result on Saturday now.”
Reflecting more on the midweek friendly against Nigel Clough’s Blades, who fielded no fewer than five first team players, Cox added: “It was a good run out for us.
“Sheffield United brought a number of first team players down and it gave the lads, especially those who haven’t had much ‘match practice of late, a good run out.
“It was a competitive [game] more than anything, which we needed, and the lads appreciated [getting] a good 90 minutes under their belts.”
When asked about our recent form in Sky Bet League Two, our boss continued: “I think [our recent league form] has been down to circumstances.
“When we were on a good run, we were structured and organised. Nobody could look at any of our games, apart from at Chesterfield, where I thought we defended well, and say that we were fortunate to win.
“We earned the right to win, draw and deserved to pick up points, but what’s happened to us is that we’ve gone through a stage where we lose good players through injury and suspension, and it impacts on the club.
“But we’ve got to look at the long term goal for this club, which is stability, putting the infrastructure in place and looking to the future.
“Our next step has to be a realistic one. We don’t want to become a yo-yo club, as we want to make sure the club is built on solid foundations.
“The whole club, including the players, is going through a learning curve this season, and as soon as we get back to being ‘us’ as a team, the sooner we’ll start picking up points and start climbing the table.”
Cox continued: “There are clubs in this league who will openly tell you that they’re going to go out in January and spend a lot of money.
“But what we’ve got to do here is work with the group that we’ve got. I’ve got to ‘wheel and deal’ and there may be one or two moving on to new pastures, which will free up some money to bring better players in.
“That’s part and parcel of what my job is about, but I still think that we’ve got a half-decent squad that can affect this league.”
