THIS week we turn our attention to the FA Cup.

Slough Town will provide really tough opposition for us and I expect them to be very organised and disciplined, making it hard for us to break them down.

We had some good memories of the FA Cup from last season, reaching the fourth qualifying round and running National League side Telford United very close.

We are desperate to go on a similar run and recreate the atmosphere we experienced then.

On Tuesday we progressed in the Hampshire Senior Cup with a 3-0 victory over Farnborough.

It was a game that should have been a lot more comfortable for us, but to Farnborough’s credit, they worked extremely hard for 90 minutes and refused to make things easy for us.

The Academy have been back with us for a couple of weeks now and are settling into education and full-time training.

The games will now come thick and fast for them now, with as many as three in the same day on occasions, so there will be opportunity for the players to get plenty of game-time.

With the numbers in the programme so high this year, game-time is key and getting the right balance between training, games and rest will become important.

The trials for next year’s intake will be starting earlier this season.

The first date will be during the October half-term. If anyone is interested, please contact me by email at jason.bristow@btfc.co.uk.

Regards,

Jason