Burton Albion v Salisbury City
The FA Carlsberg Trophy
Second Round Proper
3pm, Saturday 10 January 2009
Pirelli Stadium, Burton Albion FC
Winning clubs will receive £6,000 from The FA
Salisbury City manager Nick Holmes has warned his team that Burton will be out to impress new manager Roy McFarland in their FA Trophy Second Round clash this weekend.
Burton said goodbye to Nigel Clough at the start of the week after more than a decade of sterling service, as the former England midfielder moved into League football by taking over at Derby County.
But Holmes is certain they will not face a club in chaos, with experienced McFarland taking over an in-form team 13 points clear at the top of the Conference.
"They might find that extra couple of per cent with a new manager coming in, so it doesn't usually help the club that they are playing," he explained.
"We actually seem to have caught four or five teams like that already this season - playing them just after their old manager has left!
"We played Burton in the league earlier this season and they scored in the very first minute and we spent the rest of the game getting nowhere against them. They were very good and it doesn't surprise me that they are up there at the top of the table."
After a good start to the season themselves, Salisbury have seen their form drop and they are currently two points above the relegation zone - but that is not stopping Holmes from staying positive.
"We know we have a hard task ahead but Burton's worst game this season was against Farsley Celtic and that was in The Trophy, and we're going to have a right go at them."
Salisbury's biggest game in recent memory was just two years ago when they took Nottingham Forest to a replay in the Second Round of The FA Cup. They used that cash windfall to expand their stadium and are now looking for another good run to boost the coffers again.
"A cup run will help enormously," Holmes admitted.
"The one thing we've never done is budget for them, but this would be a hell of a convenient time to get one going.
"We've been in the Trophy Quarter Finals a couple of times in the last three years, so we've been through cup competitions and have that experience which helps us in our preparations."