FRIDAY night friendlies don’t come more glamorous than Scunthorpe United – and Neil Lennon is hoping Glanford Park is where he can really start separating the men from the boys.

After collecting a first win of pre-season at Oldham Athletic on Tuesday night, the Wanderers boss is keen to start some fine tuning with the start of the Championship campaign just a fortnight away.

With a handful of certain starters still missing from the reckoning, it has been tough to figure out exactly how Lennon’s team will line-up on August 8.

But we may just get a better idea of what is in store for the Derby County game when Lennon sets his stall out this evening in North Lincolnshire.

Mark Davies is likely to feature for the first time since Austria, although the club has played down the significance of the midfielder’s absence from the previous two friendly games.

“He got a real battering against Paderborn and there was a bit of swelling around his knee but he should hopefully be okay for Friday,” Lennon confirmed.

“It was just a bang, it wasn’t linked with any previous injury he’s had.”

Significantly, Wanderers were able to start against Oldham on Tuesday with two recognised full-backs in trialist Lawrie Wilson and Dean Moxey, a telling factor in the first win of pre-season.

It remains to be seen whether Lennon will revert to his preferred three-man central defence when Tim Ream comes back from international duty, or David Wheater regains full fitness. But it is certainly an option, as both Moxey and Wilson – assuming he earns a contract – are equally comfortable as wing-backs.

The return of Josh Vela in midfield has also given a steelier look to Wanderers, who were much more economical in possession at Boundary Park than they had been in any of their previous outings.

Tom Walker will definitely miss the trip after suffering a thigh strain at Oldham, which could open up an opportunity for Filip Twardzik, who played in a similar role for the development squad in their 2-2 draw with Stockport County on Wednesday night.

The Czech youngster has been used exclusively as a full-back so far in pre-season but if Lennon chooses to stick with an orthodox 4-4-2, he could get the nod ahead of Neil Danns, who replaced Walker at Oldham.

That change saw a switch to a diamond midfield with Stephen Dobbie playing furthest forward and Liam Feeney pushed on to play alongside Gary Madine.

Emile Heskey’s absence through injury means Madine will almost certainly spearhead the attack again, although whether Feeney, Clough or Dobbie play alongside him remains to be seen.

A tactical picture is slowly emerging and Lennon hopes some further progress can be made against Mark Robins’ Scunthorpe – a team looking to improve significantly on last season’s 16th placed finish in League One.

“At Oldham we had two experienced lads in Lawrie and Dean, they are good footballers, and right-back is certainly an area we’ve been struggling with for some time,” he said.

“It was great to see Josh Vela get through another hour and I thought he was excellent. Darren Pratley just does what he does – he’s got such great energy and legs.

“With that experience, we’re starting to see a stronger team develop.

“On top of that there’s Emile Heskey, Tim Ream, Zach Clough, David Wheater, Liam Trotter, Mark Davies and then Max Clayton to come a little bit further down the line.

“Those guys have got some work to do because they’ll need to get up to speed. The team is looking in good condition now and we’ve got another game on Friday which should be another step in the right direction.”

Wanderers will have to be on guard against in-form striker Paddy Madden, a player once linked with Lennon when he was in charge at Celtic.

The 25-year-old joined Scunthorpe for £300,000 last season and struck a hat-trick in the Irons’ 4-0 win at Hartlepool United on Tuesday night.

Robins' side should welcome goalkeeper Luke Daniels and midfielder Jamie Ness back into the squad after injury.

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