Weymouth are three wins away from entering the First Round Proper to be played in November and a significant Cup run would be a welcome financial boost for the club.

And the former Leicester City, Portsmouth and Wolves man is all too aware of what that would mean to his team and the local fans.

"This is a good game for us to play in financially, but it could have been easier in terms of the opposition," he said.

"The fact that we are playing our local rivals makes this a big game for the fans, but the fact that it is an FA Cup tie makes it even bigger.

"I have played in a lot of derby games in my career and they are for the fans. They are all about who wins the bragging rights for the next few weeks."

Weymouth are currently sitting fifteenth in the Nationwide Conference South - just three points behind opponents Dorchester.

Preparations at the Avenue Stadium have been gearing up this week, with even extra turnstiles being ordered.

When The FA Cup itself came to both clubs on Wednesday, David Miles, the Dorchester Town Club Secretary said: "In one sense it's a shame that the two clubs have met so early in this year's competition, but you can bet that both sides will be hyped up to try and win through to the next round and maybe go on a money-spinning Cup trail.

"As well as the usual local derby rivalry, there are two brothers who may even line up against each other (Alex Browne of Dorchester Town and Simon Browne of Weymouth, pictured above). We hope that a big crowd will come down on Saturday, and get to the ground early so they don't miss any of the action."

A 2-1 defeat at the hands of Thurrock for Weymouth at the weekend was not the ideal preparation for this weekend's tie, but Claridge remains upbeat.

He said: "We are going into this game after some poor recent form. We have only lost three of our last ten games, but we just haven't won enough of them.

"It is very different as a player than as a manager when you are not getting the results that you want.

"As a manager I have to look at the team as a whole, but as a player I know deep down if I have done enough for the team.

"The pressure to win is always there, but there will be more so on Saturday and, let's face it, you wouldn't be in football if you didn't like pressure - I love it."

Claridge has played in many FA Cup ties before, but has never matched the success that he found in other competitions - most notably winning the League Cup with Leicester in 1997.

"I am really looking forward to the game because, despite having more success in the League Cup, I have never really been lucky in The FA Cup and I would like to change that.

"I reached the quarter-finals of The FA Cup twice with Cambridge United, but didn't play and when I signed for Wolves my third game for the club was in the semi-final against Arsenal."

Images courtesy of Dorset Echo and Empics