Trophy holds no fear for Robins
By Connor Murphy
Comment
GRAHAM Heathcote believes his players should have nothing to fear as they kick off their quest to reach Wembley's hallowed turf on Saturday.
York are the visitors to Moss Lane in the FA Trophy First Round and the Alty boss believes his side have every chance of going all the way in the prestigious cup competition.
The Robins have done it three times in the past, even taking home the silverware in both 1978 and 1986.
Having played on that first triumphant side, Heathcote is well-versed in the club's Trophy history and believes it is every bit as special as the FA Cup. He told SAM Sport: "I was really enthusiastic in training on Tuesday and I said to my players that I didn't know whether I actually felt it more than them.
"The FA Trophy is a great competition and this club has a proud history in it.
"We can't meet anyone in the Trophy of a better standard than the teams we're meeting week in, week out and there's no non-league club out there that we should be fearing.
"If we can perform to the best of our ability in the FA Trophy, we’re capable of going all the way."
Graham Heathcote
""We've given a good game to everyone we've played in this league and if we can perform to the best of our ability in the Trophy, we're capable of going all the way."
Despite his positive attitude, Heathcote is under no illusions about the difficulty of Saturday's First round tie against York.
The Minstermen have won four games in a row away from home and haven't lost in their last six.
Since the sacking of Billy McEwen, caretaker manager Colin Walker has led the club to two wins and a draw and they'll be keen to continue their impressive form at Moss Lane.
"York will want this as much as we do," said Heathcote.
"There will be no questions about their hunger because they've been on a good run recently and they will just be focussed on making sure they continue that.
"Once you get over the first hurdle in cup competitions, you get a feel for it.
"So I believe if we do win on Saturday we can go on a run, but it won't be easy."
With the January transfer window fast approaching, Heathcote has also begun his search for reinforcements.
The priority is attempting to secure on-loan Stoke defender Ryan Shotton until the end of the season.
Alty are waiting to get approval from the FA that they can turn the short-term loan into a season-long deal before approaching Stoke again.
But should he return to his club, it could leave Alty with just 15 fit first team players.
Both Colin Potts (knee) and Val Owen (foot) are still struggling with long-term problems and Gareth Whalley suffered a recurrence of his muscle strain.
Heathcote added: "At the moment I'm just putting together a list of players who could be possible targets.
"We will have to bring in reinforcements because we are really struggling for numbers at the moment."
4:36pm today
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