PAUL Lynch has the perfect opportunity to fully test the strength in depth of his squad when they go to Marine in the FA Cup tomorrow.

But the Rossendale manager has already had some high-profile help in running the rule over his players this week, in the form of Manchester United full back Phil Neville.

The England player and Rossendale resident took a training session at Dark Lane last night to boost Dale's preparations for the trip to Merseyside.

But Neville's main motive for overseeing the training was to put in some practical sessions as part of a coaching course he is attending.

Lynch was pleased with the professional preparation for their FA Cup second preliminary round clash, particularly as the Dale boss has been forced into making a number of changes because his five new signings are cup-tied.

"These are exciting times for a lot of the players because you can see they've all been itching to play, and having Phil Neville here has given them a boost as well," Lynch said.

"Some of them could easily have thrown in the towel but they have bided their time and will get their chance tomorrow.

"So it's all good for the club because there's healthy competition for places and we should still have quite a strong starting 11 out."

Lynch is the newest manger in the UniBond League, having been in the Rossendale hot seat for just less than two weeks, so he couldn't be more different to his opposite number on Saturday.

Roly Howard is the longest serving manager in the country, having been been boss at Marine for 30 years.

This season Marine are mid-table in the UniBond Premier and struggling to find the consistency that brought them two consecutive championships in 1994 and 1995.

Lynch added: "Obviously with Marine being from a higher division they will be favourites to progress but it would be nice for us to have a cup run."