League Two Tips: Barrow's Jolley good fellow to start with win

Michael the Christmas angel Barrow needed

Barrow 2.546/4 v Tranmere 3.02/1; the draw 3.613/5
Kick-off 19:45, Tuesday

Barrow have perked up with two wins since David Dunn's exit as manager. His assistant Rob Kelly remarked after Saturday's win at Port Vale: "We always said we would grow into the league". The Bluebirds were not doing so fast enough for the board, it seems. Kelly is more than happy to hand over to Michael Jolley, officially, having overseen Saturday's win despite the former Grimsby boss being appointed before the game.

Jolley isn't that experienced as a football manager, although he has a fantastic reputation for coaching at clubs including Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Burnley, since 2005.

Few - if any other - professional football managers have a degree from Cambridge University. He also has a UEFA Pro Licence, the top coaching level. He was manager of AFC Eskilstuna in Sweden and then, as League Two followers are more likely to know, managed Grimsby Town for 18 months. There were great spells of results, and not so great, after his initial mission to keep them up was achieved. He won manager of the month at least three times and they had some cup successes. The curve was upwards.

A spectacular expletive-led, off-record rant at a BBC regional radio reporter prompted his exit by mutual consent. Everyone deserves a second chance, right? Particularly at Christmas, and in football terms just in time to make signings in January.

Maybe he will be the man to inspire Scott Quigley to the hatful of goals he netted to get Barrow promoted. Or to conjure more strikes out of Luke James and Dior Angus.

The game against Tranmere is perhaps the place to start. The honeymoon period is over for new boss Keith Hill, after Tranmere lost three of their last four matches. In two of them Rovers didn't score. And they have conceded nine goals in that period.

Hill says the team's main problem is giving enough support to 12-goal (nine in the league) top scorer James Vaughan. He wants the ball retainers to become chance creators and scorers. Calum MacDonald and Danny Lloyd also had chances. Kaiyne Woolery must be screaming: "I can only do so much from the bench!"

Barrow have a positive goals record at home and lots of draws for Jolley to turn into wins. Tranmere have a negative goal difference away, arguably only because of a 5-0 recent mauling at Exeter. But Barrow should be the more confident, especially at home, with a new boss to impress.

Southend can take three points from the Orient

Ammies coming up strong on the rails

Mansfield 2.962/1 v Salford City 2.767/4; the draw 3.412/5
Kick-off 19:00, Tuesday

Salford have gone from talking horses in pre-season to stalking horses coming fast up the rails, having finally pushed their way into the play-off positions. Whether they can prove the thoroughbreds that pundits - and layers who made them pre-season title favourites, with Bolton - have made them out to be is up to them.

Ian Henderson, some were quick to claim, is far better than a League Two player. Well, quality might not wane, but speed does. He's 35 and that cracking pace of 109 league goals in 285 appearances for Rochdale over seven years (38% chance of a goal every game) has slowed to five in 19 appearances (26% chance) for his new club.

Fellow forward James Wilson has six and so does midfielder Ashley Hunter, to be joint top scorer. Darrell Clarke, boss of Walsall whom the Ammies beat on Boxing Day, said City's "big game players" did their jobs to end his side's four-game winning streak, just as the Saddlers were beetling up the league table.

Instead it is Graham Alexander's men who sit sixth, with a game in hand and three points off third with League Two's second-best goal difference of +13. Furthermore, they either lose or win away. Mansfield, still winless at home, will do well to hold them to a draw, despite having six at Field Mill.

Tired pair looking to recruit can end year all square

Newport 2.588/5 v Exeter 3.185/40; the draw 3.613/5
Kick-off 19:00, Tuesday

Despite leading at Christmas - a statistic that has guaranteed promotion from League Two in eight of the past 10 seasons - Newport boss Michael Flynn has made it clear he wants January recruits.

The Exiles have hit a rough patch, with two of every result in the past six, placing them bang in the middle of the six-game form table. They have seven loan signings already. That list will be trimmed. Others will be sought.

A couple of weeks ago their squad looked very strong as they forged ahead at the top. Now, they look tired. Now, they might not even head into the New Year atop League Two, if they only draw and either Carlisle (at Harrogate) or Forest Green (at home to Crawley) win on Tuesday. Another mouthwatering FA Cup tie, against Brighton, looms 11 days hence.

It is to Newport's advantage that they have scored in every League Two match this season. Perhaps even more to their advantage that they are at home, where they have lost just once. There are positives even to take from their capitulation against Oldham just over a week ago: they scored twice, as they had also done in their previous two fixtures at Valley Parade. Overall, from nine games there, they have netted 15 and conceded 10. In seven of their home games they have scored twice, winning six of those and seven games in total, drawing one (against in-form Walsall).

Scott Twine, top scorer, has netted five of his six strikes at home this season. It's surely a habit rather than a coincidence. Oddly, Tristan Abrahams' four league goals have all been struck away, something which might perplex his manager. Scott Bennett and Mickey Demetriou, both 30, need to use their experience to lead the team out of their mini slump.

Exeter look strong under Matt Taylor again this season. Maybe not strong enough for their manager's liking, but they have the division's best goal average with +14. Most of that is down to their home form. Away, they have an 18-16 ratio, with six draws. While they will be Newport's toughest assignment so far this season (with the possible exception of the Exiles' draw at Forest Green), they will present a challenge.

Taylor believes they should have beaten Forest Green, when they ended 1-1 on Saturday. Ryan Bowman, Matt Jay, Jack Sparkes and Joel Randall all missed chances.

The Grecians' production line keeps giving. Randell Williams turned down a move to a League One club in September but talk of his departure persists. Can they keep him? Taylor promises he will be having some "honest conversations" with some of his squad in January. It sounds similar to Flynn wanting to trim his loanees to bring in more.

Both teams must be on their toes. Shape up or ship out - the threat is there. Newport's scoring record gives weary minds and legs a chance, but Exeter's away record points to a scoring draw. Four of their six draws away have been 2-2, but I'm thinking that matching the one that finished 1-1 is more likely (the other was goalless) at the end of a frenetic first four months of the season.