Chorley manager Jamie Vermiglio has managed to turn a negative into a positive this season, with the Magpies surging to the top of National League North in its early stages.

Vermiglio took charge at Victory Park during the summer, following the resignation of former Crystal Palace and Blackburn striker Matt Jansen, who he had previously assisted in the dugout.

The 36-year-old has since done what many other right-hand men haven’t been able to do after stepping into the hotseat, which is thrive and he is unbeaten in 14 matches, in all competitions.

Their lead at the top of National League North was once a yawning nine points, after winning nine of their first ten league games, although this has been whittled down to five after drawing their last two matches.

Last weekend’s game at Telford United saw the Magpies have victory snatched away from them by Henry Cowans’ stoppage-time equaliser, after Josh Wilson’s goal had put them on the brink of all three points.

Vermiglio said after that match: “It feels like a defeat – we’d just worked a really good goal, and they didn’t really look like causing us too many problems, although they put a lot of pressure on us in the last 20 minutes.

“They were going for it, we were trying to hang onto something, so credit to them for their resilience and keeping going. But we’re absolutely gutted with how the goal has come, we probably could have slowed down the game a little more.

Chorley reached this stage of the FA Cup by avoiding a banana skin in the third qualifying round against Peterborough Sports, eventually running out 3-0 winners.

There is a considerable Barrow connection in the Magpies’ squad, which includes strikers Marcus Carver and Louis Almond and twins Alex and Elliot Newby.

What’s more, Chorley’s life president is Brian Pilkington, who was part of the Bluebirds’ promotion-winning team in 1967.