WEYMOUTH assistant-manager Paul Maitland believes the Terras have to put their FA Cup run behind them as they eye up a BigFreeBet.com Challenge Cup tie with Wimborne Town at the Bob Lucas Stadium tonight (7.45pm).
The Terras last played their Evo-Stik West opponents in pre-season when goals from Ben Thomson, Brandon Goodship and Jake McCarthy steered Weymouth to a 3-1 win.
But Maitland anticipates using the fixture against the Magpies to give chances to players that “need more minutes”.
He said: “A little bit deeper into the FA Cup would have been nice for the players and supporters to have that where we could make the first round and get on TV.
“It won’t be forgotten about completely but Wimborne will be the next important game.
“We know Wimborne quite well, and they know about us. That said, it’s not top of our list. It will be an opportunity for us to give players a game that need more minutes. I expect some changes, but not completely wholesale.”
And Maitland feels encouraged for the rest of the season after receiving positive comments from Chelmsford City members after their 2-1 third qualifying round loss on Saturday.
He said: “It’s nice to hear, but it’s not nice to hear. We’ve had a lot of nice things said about us by the Chelmsford supporters and many of their staff about how well we played and that’s what I like to take heart from. The positives far outweigh the negatives. Maybe on another day we could have come away with a replay.”
