After seeing his side drawn at home for the first time in this season’s FA Cup Spartans manager Tom Wade issued a rallying call to the Green Army. Conference side Altrincham will make the trip to Croft Park on the weekend of Saturday 8th November and Wade wants to make sure that the Cheshire outfit know that they aren’t preparing to face just eleven players, but will a town thirsty for FA Cup success.
“This isn’t just about the eleven lads in green and white who are on the pitch, or even the squad and the management. This cup tie gives us a chance to get the Green Army to Croft Park in their numbers and show Altrincham that they aren’t only having to beat the players.
They have to get past a town and a noisy set of supporters who will help us give everything they have. This has been a good cup run but we aren’t ready to finish it yet and as a club we have to work together as players, as a club and as supporters to give our town the cup run they deserve”
A run of four consecutive away draws has finally been broken as Spartans came out of the bag alongside the Robins and Wade is delighted to finally return to Croft Park after a tough run.
“Obviously every non-league club in the draw wanted a Football League club and we were no different. However if that doesn’t happen they you want to get a home draw, which we have. It’s up to us but we know it won’t be easy. It’s two famous giantkillers battling it out and it should be a great game”
Altrincham currently sit in nineteenth place in the Conference table, just two point and two places above the relegation positions. However Wade pointed to a recent upturn in form as a sign that they won’t just rollover when they come to Northumberland.
“Any Conference side would have been a tough draw. Their position in the league doesn’t tell the full story and we aren’t being fooled by it. They’ve beaten Braintree, Halifax and Macclesfield recently and obviously we can see they beat Barwell in the last round. It’ll be tough but we will make it just as tough for them too”