Sinnott: Rankine showed he will terrorise defenders after scoring home debut

Trailing League One side Wigan to a spectacular opening goal, Altrincham deservedly drew level after Rankine bundled a defender off the ball and calmly slotted past the advancing keeper.

It was one of several robust challenges that drew roars of approval from a crowd of nearly 900 in a match that ended 1-1.

And Sinnott believes others will be in for a similarly rough ride at the hands of the bustling, powerfully-built frontrunner.

"He is certainly a wholehearted player who gives 100 per cent, and that was evident in the way he made his mark against Wigan," said the Alty

boss.

"He wasn’t too pleased with himself at Bamber Bridge on Saturday. He was a bit annoyed because he allowed himself to be bounced off the ball once and he felt his touch wasn’t all it might have been.

"But he was a real handful for Wigan, and that's what we want from him.

"We put the Wigan players under pressure and stole possession from them a good few times, never more so than for the goal.

"It was great perseverance by Michael and a really cool, composed finish.

"When you come to a new club, you want to get off the mark as quickly as possible and it can only be good for his confidence."

Goalkeeper Tim Deasy also made his home debut, which he marked with a superb second-half penalty save.

Midfielder Jake Moult was fortunate to emerge unscathed after being clattered three times, most notably by defender James Perch, who was booked.

"What impressed me about Tim’s save was the way he held his nerve," said Sinnott.

"The lad’s run-up was designed to try and fox him into going one way early, but he didn’t fall for it.

"Perch was very apologetic for his challenge, and sought Jake out for a word after being subbed.

"Maybe it would have been judged differently (by the ref) during the season, but at least Jake seems ok."