Reds??? renaissance boosted by Mark and Angelo

FC United’s charge for the UniBond Premier Division play-offs has been boosted by the signings of centre-back Mark Ayres and midfielder Angelos Tsiaklis.

Cyprus under-21 international, Tsiaklis joins from Blue Square Premier club Wrexham after previously spending nearly 10 years at Manchester City whilst Ayres has signed from UniBond Division One North side Salford City.

Manager Karl Marginson works with three of Tsiaklis’ cousins at Manchester College and through that link he has been able to get the 20-year-old to join the club. Tsiaklis made six appearances for the Red Dragons on a two month loan spell at the end of 2008. However, after joining the club on a full-time basis last summer, he has seen first team opportunities limited and so he’s decided to move on.

Ayres played under Margy when he was assistant manager at Flixton and the 24-year-old has also played against FC United three times for the Valley Road club. Margy said: "I’ve known Mark for a long time; he always had a lot of potential as a youngster. He’s got a lot of pace, he doesn’t mess about and he gets the simple things right."??

FC United are awaiting clearance from the Welsh FA for Tsiaklis and Margy thinks there will be a need for some ’settling in time’ before the two new players feature in the first team but he said: "We want plenty of competition for places as we get into the business end of the season."??