Lee Bradbury is the man tasked with sealing Havant & Waterlooville’s instant return to National League South and the manager sees no reason why that cannot be coupled with a deep Buildbase FA Trophy run.
Last season saw Havant relegated to the seventh tier of English football for the first time since 1998-99, but The Hawks have made a promising start to life in the Isthmian Premier Division – currently lying fourth in the table, just two points off top spot with a game in hand.
This Saturday their attention turns to the FA Trophy as they welcome Billericay Town in second round qualifying and the Hampshire side have recent history in the competition – reaching the semi-finals in 2014.
They had previously catapulted themselves into the national limelight by reaching the FA Cup fourth round in 2008, eventually losing 5-2 to Liverpool despite twice taking the lead at Anfield.
Billericay will be no pushovers at Westleigh Park as they lie just one place behind Havant in the Isthmian Premier Division table.
But former Portsmouth and Bournemouth striker Bradbury is convinced the fact their opponents are going well could be to his side’s advantage.
Lee Bradbury enjoyed two playing spells at Portsmouth
“We’ve actually struggled against teams lower down the table – they’ve taken the most points off us this year, which is something that worries me a little bit,” explained Bradbury, who has been at the helm since 2012.
“You naturally get stimulated against the teams in and around the top, but my demand of the players is to do that week-in, week-out whether you’re playing top or bottom of the league.
“The FA Trophy is a competition in which we want to go as far as we can. In 2014 we got to the semi-finals and as a non-league player it’s your best chance of playing in the best stadium in the world – Wembley.
“We’ll take it seriously and it’s the only cup competition we’re left in, so we want to try to get to the final and win it.
“We have three or four in the squad who went through that run in 2014 but it’s a nucleus of new players this year. We’ve got a real honest bunch of lads that want to win and want to learn.”
FA Trophy history
Havant & Waterlooville’s run to the semi-finals in 2014 was eventually ended by Gosport Borough 3-1 on aggregate, while they also reached the last four in 2002-03.
Billericay’s best performance came in 2000-01, where they reached the fifth round before going down 3-2 to Telford United.
Did you know?
Havant & Waterlooville took on La Liga side Real Betis in a pre-season friendly in July 2011 after Betis’ original opponents, Portsmouth, were unable to fulfil the fixture due to being stuck in North Carolina. The Hawks went on to lose 7-0.
One to watch
Veteran midfielder Brian Stock joined Havant & Waterlooville from Burnley in 2014, having made over 350 Football League appearances for the likes of Bournemouth, Preston North End and Doncaster Rovers. The 34-year-old also won three caps for Wales.
The prize
A place in the hat for third round qualifying, as well as a cheque for £3,250, awaits the winner.
