EXPERIENCED defender, Mark Smith, is looking forward to getting back on the Buildbase FA Vase trail on Saturday as we entertain Sherwood Colliery (kick-off 3.00pm).
“I always love a Cup game,” he said. “It’ll be good to take a break from the League and try to progress in this competition.

“We’ve seen Midlands clubs do well in the competition in recent seasons and it can really create a buzz around the club, particularly as there’s the incentive of a Wembley Final at the end of it.

“The Gaffers have put down the challenge for us and we’ll be striving to do well.
“We’ve had disappointing results in our last two games and we’re determined to give the fans something to cheer about on Saturday.

“Hopefully they will turn up in good numbers and really get behind us; they’re always extremely supportive and it’s great to play in front of them.”
Smith has been a solid and reliable figure amongst the back-line, using his know-how to good effect.

“I’m growing into it now and putting a run of performances together,” he added. “I’m not as young as I used to be, so it’s been a case of finding my feet.
“There’s always room for improvement and it would be nice if we could start keeping a few more clean sheets.

“If we can do that it would give us a real platform because we have the players here who will create plenty of chances and score goals.

“In our last game we created enough opportunities to have won three games but we lacked a cutting edge and then conceded a poor goal late on.”

Admission prices for Saturday’s visit of Sherwood Colliery have been set, as follows: Adults: £6.00, Concessions & Students: £4.00 and Under 16s: £2.00.

“I’ve never played against Sherwood Colliery before,” continued Smith. “It will be a new experience for me, but the Gaffers have done their homework on them and we’ve worked hard on our game plan.

“We’ll go into the game with the right attitude and determined to make it into the next round.”
Please note that extra-time will be played should the scores finish level after 90 minutes.