Town boss wants to install winning mentality.
Matlock Town v Loughborough Dynamo
The FA Carlsberg Trophy
First Round Qualifying
3pm, Saturday 17 October
Geoquip Stadium, Matlock Town FC
Winning clubs receive £2300
Click here for fixtures
Mark Atkins wants his Matlock Town side to show the mental toughness of Premier League winners this weekend, as they face Loughborough Dynamo in The FA Trophy First Round Qualifying.
The 41-year old was a key part of the Blackburn Rovers side that were crowned champions of England in 1995, playing 34 times under Kenny Dalglish that season, and is passing on the lessons he learned during that campaign's run-in to his players.
"It's all about how you approach the game mentally," he said. "If you think for a second that the game is done and dusted at any point, that's when an upset can happen.
"We have to earn the right to play against them. It's not just given to us because were a division higher. In any cup it (division status) means nothing."
The former midfield lynchpin knows all about slipping up to lower-league opposition. He was part of a Blackburn line-up beaten at home by Charlton Athletic, then of the old First Division, in an FA Cup Fourth Round replay in 1994.
His Derbyshire-based team lie second from bottom in the Northern Premier Division, with Loughborough in mid-table just one tier below.
And Atkins, who has been in his post a year following spells with Harrogate and Stalybridge Celtic, reckons the pressure is on his side to win the game.
"This will be our hardest game of the season so far," he admitted. "I went to watch Loughborough as soon as I found out the draw and they're going to come at us and give 100 per cent."
The dizzy heights of the English football's seventh tier are a far cry from the Premiership, even in the early 1990s, but Atkins is grateful to be where he is; his first lone endeavour as a manager.
He added: "It's very difficult when you only see the players and work with them twice a week. It's a long way off the level I was used to as a player in the Premier League.
"I had to finish playing because of a cruciate ligament injury at 35, so I had to start thinking about coaching and I'm just happy Matlock have given me my first managerial opportunity by myself."