NOW TRY TO TAME OWLS

MARCUS NEWELL says Cleethorpes Town have created a monster with their run to the FA Vase quarter-finals – and now he wants them to tame the beast. Like most clubs, the Owls were targeting the league title this season rather than a tilt at Wembley. Top of the Northern Counties East League Premier division and already closing in on 100 league goals, Newell’s side are on course to achieve their goal. But as they’ve ticked off the Vase rounds the boss accepts they’ve now got to fight on two fronts. “I’ve always said, my ambition is the league,” Newell, whose side travel to Southall on Saturday, said. “If we’re lucky enough to win the league then great. But the players have created the monster. “Three or four rounds ago you’re not thinking all that much about the Vase, and I mean that in the nicest possible way, but now they’ve created the monster and you have to take notice because the opportunity is there. “You go from thinking, ‘League, League, League’, to, ‘This is massive now. We need to address the cup and take it seriously. It’s taking as much priority as the league.” Newell believes shopping local has been a cornerstone of their success. “We kept it as local as we possibly could and that’s been huge,” Newell said. “When you go into the last five minutes of these cup games needing something, that’s got us through. “They are all very good players, but the fact they’d probably spend time together even if they weren’t at the football club is a massive plus.”