Despite a 2-0 victory for the Premiership big boys, it was a brave performance by the ‘Ding’. They played some excellent passing football and kept the scores level until early in the second half.

Hippolyte said: "I said before the game that we are a good side technically. We are also very strong mentally. But the problem was always going to be our fitness late on in the game.

"No disrespect to the other non-League side who made the headlines over the weekend, but Exeter City have a full-time squad and they managed to cope with Manchester United’s fitness levels.

"Exeter are a professional club who just happen to be in the wrong division at this moment in time. But we are only part-time at Yeading and I think that was the difference at the end of the game against Newcastle.

"In hindsight, the only thing I would have liked to have changed before the game was to get my players to take three weeks off work so that we could have prepared them properly! If we could have trained them solidly and made them full-time for three weeks, then it might have made a difference. But, realistically, we could not have done anything differently within our means.

"I think we got our tactics and game plan right. We weren’t really sure what we were up against until we saw the Newcastle line-up announced before the kick-off. They watched us a few times and we usually keep our team selection virtually the same.

"But we didn’t know if Newcastle were going to play 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 and what players would be involved. They have changed their side a great deal in recent weeks due to injuries, suspensions and buying new players in.

"So I think my boys have done well. They were proud of themselves in the dressing room afterwards and rightly so.

"I would like to think that the performances of both ourselves and Exeter City will remind everyone of the importance of football at grassroots level.

"A number of non-League players are good enough to play at a higher standard. I am sure that the TV audience who saw our game against Newcastle will have realised that there are good players in the Ryman League.

"It was nice to stage the game at QPR. I grew up opposite the ground in the White City Estate and some of my players are also local. So it was special to play at Loftus Road.

"The FA Cup run exceeded all our expectations. We originally hoped to get to the First Round Proper. So we surpassed that. And the financial rewards have been good for the club.

"But I doubt that we will spend the money on recruiting players. We will concentrate on ground improvements. We need to improve our floodlights, build a new stand and develop training facilities for our under-11s, U12s and U13s.

"I’ve told the lads that they must now focus on winning the Ryman League. For me, The FA Cup is a great competition but winning promotion to the Nationwide South for next season is the most important thing.

"I hope that the Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd and manager Graeme Souness think we put on a good show on Sunday. Maybe they will invite us up for a pre-season friendly, so that my boys will get on to the hallowed turf at St James’ Park and see what it is all about.

"We enjoyed the whole occasion against Newcastle. Apart from my kids being born, it was the second proudest day of my life. And it was nice that the England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson came to watch the game. I hear he is looking for a coach, so I am up for some of that!"

Newcastle boss Graeme Souness was full of praise for Yeading after the game.

He said: "It was a proper FA Cup tie. Yeading pushed us all the way. They came into the game with the habit of winning. They are dominating their league and they go home most weekends with the taste of victory in their mouths. So it was never going to be an easy tie. Full credit to Yeading.

"Their game plan was to get in amongst us and they kept going. They got the best out of their players. Until we scored our second goal, it was still very much game on."

Other Grassroots News

Former Northern Ireland international defender Keith Rowlands has signed for Redbridge in the Nationwide South. Rowlands won 13 caps in a career with Portadown, Bournemouth, West Ham, QPR and Chesterfield.

In the UniBond League First Division, Chorley have named former Aston Villa star Shaun Teale as their new boss. The 40-year-old has previous managerial experience with Northwich Victoria and Burscough, where he masterminded an FA Trophy Final victory in 2003.