FRANK Gray has his sights set on FA Trophy glory as his Basingstoke Town side gear up for a trip to Didcot Town in the first round proper of the competition.

Victory in Oxfordshire on Saturday (kick-off 3pm) would put the Camrose Blues into the last 32 of the FA’s premier non-league competition – leaving four rounds between them and a place in the final at Wembley.

Gray said: “I think there is a good chance a club from our level could go really far in the competition this year, and there is no reason why that cannot be us.”

Standing between Town and a place in the second round are Southern League Division One outfit Didcot Town.

On paper, it should be a routine victory for the visitors, who are flying high in the Blue Square Bet South table, two levels above their hosts, and went into yesterday night’s Hampshire Senior Cup tie at Sholing having lost just two of their last 19.

Didcot began the season under the management of former Basingstoke boss Francis Vines – but a slow start saw him resign in September. They are currently 16th in the table, having picked up just 16 points from 17 games, lost 3-1 away at Paulton Rovers on Tuesday, and have won just one of their nine home games in the league so far this season.

Gray admits his side are strong favourites but is understandably wary, given that Didcot sprung a surprise by knocking out Blue Square Bet South outfit Bromley in the last round.

“It’s a decent draw but Didcot went to Bromley and won 3-1 so we have to give them the respect they deserve,” he said. “That result shows that it will not be easy.

“We were the victims of an upset ourselves two years ago at Northwood, and hopefully there will be no repeat of that.

“I think we have got enough experience in the squad to know we have got to be on it from the start.

“Didcot have picked up a bit recently, but we have done well too, and if we can maintain that form I will be happy. We got a good result at Sutton in our last game so hopefully we can keep it up.”

Gray travelled to Oxfordshire to see Didcot in action last week, watching on from the stands as they claimed a 1-0 victory over Bridgwater Town.

“They won the game and looked well-organised,” he said.

“They are fairly direct but we have to make sure we do not get drawn into that, and dictate the game ourselves.”

Town travelled to Loop Meadow for an FA Cup tie last season, winning 4-0 – and Gray is hoping for a repeat performance on Saturday.

“We started well last year and that was the important thing,” he said.

“It will be the same on Saturday and we will be trying to get off to another good start.”

After 10 days without a game, Saturday’s match will be the second of four in the space of 11 days for Town – a run that could stretch their already thin squad.

Left-back Toby Little is expected to be fit enough to play, after recovering from a hamstring problem, but |forward Delano Sam-Yorke remains on the sidelines after tweaking |ligaments in his ankle.

Gray is hoping he might be fit for the visit of Chelmsford next Saturday – a game that could also see defender Robert Rice make a comeback, though he may need to wear a mask to protect his nose, which was operated on last week.

However, defender Ross Adams, who has been out since September with a broken leg, will not be fit to return to the side for several more weeks.