Taunton Town manager Richard Luffman says his team are looking forward to facing Maidenhead United in their mission to reach the FA Cup first round proper.
The Peacocks are on a 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions and will be hoping to reach the first-round proper for the fourth time in their history with a win over National League side Maidenhead on Saturday, though the Magpies – two divisions above Taunton – will be their toughest opponents yet, and manager Richard Luffman is expecting anything but an easy game.
“We’re talking about a National League team that has won four games on the bounce and has got Football League pedigree throughout their whole football team,” he said.
“We’ve got to find ways of being difficult to play against and try and keep the game competitive so that the game is decided by moments, and it isn’t not taken away from us, with us being dominated.
“It’s a really tough game but one that we’re really, really looking forward to.”
While so much of the focus is on tomorrow’s game, Luffman also has eyes on the next round and what victory could mean for Taunton’s future.
“We’ve got to look at Saturday, but what makes Saturday such a big occasion is what lies ahead,” he said, “If you can get to the FA Cup first round and get a glamour tie against a Wrexham, a Birmingham, Bolton, Reading, all of those teams, that’s what makes you dream, and for us, we need to be thinking of that with the motivation of trying to get through Saturday, because Saturday will be so, so tough.
“That could be what’s on offer if we get through and what an occasion it would be for the football club to get there again and get a big glamour tie, that would obviously be a historic day for the football club, for me, the players and the management team as well.”
Of course, his ambitions of progressing into the competition proper aren’t just sentimental; progression in the FA Cup can be highly significant for teams like Taunton, with the financial benefits of prize money, gate receipts and broadcast revenue proving to be an incredibly enticing reward.
“It can make football clubs,” the Taunton boss said, “If you can get through, you’re guaranteed to win £25,000 in terms of the prize money, £10,000 for winning it, and £15,000 for even just losing the next round.
“And also, you’re dreaming big of that one payday if you were to get the BBC cameras down at the ground on a Friday or Saturday afternoon, and you’ve got one of the glamour ties that obviously brings you the TV money.
“And that’s where the life-changing stuff for football clubs comes – it would be great to be in the draw for the first round, and I think that would be a huge excitement for everybody in the town and the football club.”
But despite being clear underdogs, Luffman admits that anything other than progression to the next round will feel disappointing as someone with a reputation for giant-killings.
“Knowing me, if we got to the first round, I’d be trying to plan a route to get to the second, that tends to be in my makeup, and I don’t like being a valiant loser,” he conceded.
“I wouldn’t feel congratulated if we lost two-one on Saturday, and we acquit ourselves well; I wouldn’t take any pride from that – the pride comes from winning.”
Featured image: Debbie Gould
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