EXCITING prospect Inih Effiong will be given another chance to make Barrow AFC boss Paul Cox smile at Holker Street against Rochdale tonight.

Effiong is set to play 90 minutes against Dale in the Lancashire Senior Cup, with the winners earning a semi-final match-up with Liverpool (7.45pm kick-off).

The mammoth striker came off the bench and played the final 10 minutes of Saturday's goalless National League encounter with Torquay United on Saturday.

That was Effiong's first outing for his new club after moving to the Bluebirds from South Premier League Biggleswade Town last month, having sat out two weeks with an ankle injury and having been made to bide his time since.

Effiong – who at a hulking 6ft 3ins adds physical presence and intimidation to the AFC front line – looked lively during his short run-out against the Gulls, with Cox set to give him the full 90 minutes tonight.

“I think the major positive for me on Saturday was that we put Inih into the frame late on and he excites me,” said Cox.

“I thought when Inih came on, he lit up the game. He’s everything that I knew he could be. We’ll get him another 90 minutes on Tuesday – it’s time for people like him to step into the fold now, and that excites me.

“People just think he’s a big barn door, but this kid’s got good feet, he’s got good awareness. I think he might make one or two of our supporters smile between now and the end of the season.

“When people look at him, they see something, but he’s a lot more than he is perceived and that he perceives himself to be. I thought he was excellent technically, as well as being the big, strong centre-forward that we want him to be as well.”

Effiong will be one of several first-term fringe players who will have the chance to show Cox what they can do tonight – and possibly earn a place in the squad for Saturday's FA Trophy quarter-final at Tranmere Rovers in the process.

Harry Panayiotou – an unused substitute against Torquay – Liam Hughes and goalkeeper Andy Coughlin are also likely to be given game time, though Blackburn loan duo Matty Platt and Connor Thomson have both played in the competition already for their parent club.

Akil Wright and Shaun Beeley, who were suspended for Saturday's match, may also be given time on the pitch.

“I want the boys who haven’t played, the boys who will have the opportunity to push the 11, to get some game-time,” said Cox. “I want them to show me that they deserve to be in the 11, because everyone will be called into play at some point.

“There will be a few playing, not because of what, at this stage, some people might see as a punishment, but because I want to make sure that everybody is in tip-top physical condition match-wise to affect my first 11.

“I will be looking closely to see who’s got that desire now. There might be some fall guys, there might be some who don’t fancy it between now and the end of the season, but I’ll make that decision on their performance.”