AFC Fylde boss Dave Challinor believes Saturday’s defeat at North Ferriby will help make debutant Brad Roscoe a better player.

The Coasters line up against Harrogate Town tonight (7:45pm) and with several absentees in defence areas, Roscoe will more than likely be thrown straight back in at the deep end.

Challinor’s side suffered their first league defeat since August over the weekend and the manager is pleased that his troops have the chance to put things right against another club with promotion ambitions.

Challinor said: “I thought Brad did quite well considering. It was difficult for him to come straight in without having trained with us or met any of the lads. Our defending wasn’t bad on the whole, but unfortunately the mistakes we made were punished.

“He went to ground in the penalty area and you have to stay on your feet in that position, but he is a young lad and I’m sure he will learn from that.

“It was also his man that scored the opener, but I think we could have defended the whole situation better.

“That was his first taste of senior football, but if you have ambitions of making the step up then you need to adapt quickly.

“The experience will certainly make him a better player. It’s important that he takes things on game by game and learns from any mistakes.”