Cottesmore AFC will visit Clay Cross Town aiming to progress in the FA Vase

Cottesmore play the biggest match in their club’s history on Saturday when they continue their FA Vase adventure at Clay Cross Town.

This is the Rutland club’s first-ever time in the prestigious national competition and they are already through to the first round proper.

They have knocked out Radford and Harrowby United in previous rounds and will now be aiming to complete a hat-trick of away wins against their Central Midlands League South hosts on Saturday.

The Chesterfield side are currently top of their division – which is at the same level as Cottesmore – and manager Rich Giblin insists his players will be adopting a similar approach to the previous victories.

He said: “They're not infallible and we'll approach the game like we did the ones against Radford and Harrowby.

"If we turn up and play good football then we can get a result.

"They're top of their league and, if that makes us underdogs, then I'm absolutely fine with that.

"It's just a good day for the club. If we're being realistic we probably didn't expect to get to this stage.

“But, we're into the first round proper, and there's no reason we can’t go further because we're more than capable of doing it.

"We've got to go and give a good account of ourselves, play our football and see what the weekend brings.”

Cottesmore will have a 21-player squad to select from for Saturday’s clash and will be joined by a coach-load of supporters making the trip to North East Derbyshire.

They will travel in upbeat mood after having scored 10 goals in their last two Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division clashes.

Cottesmore followed up their derby victory over Asfordby last midweek with a 6-3 success over FC Khalsa on Saturday.

The victory double has moved Cottesmore into fifth spot in the table and they’re relishing the challenge of facing an unbeaten Clay Cross side which has won six and drawn one of their seven league games so far.

Giblin added: “They seem very similar to ourselves. The set-up looks familiar and they'll have players who are capable of playing higher like we have.

"We've played 10 games this season - won seven, drawn one, and lost two so we're not far off it ourselves after an indifferent pre-season.

"We don't know much about them, but they’re a step seven side like we are although there are some big clubs in their league like Arnold Town who have played higher.

“There's no pressure on us though. We can go out and enjoy it.

“If we get something from the game then that will be great. If we don't then it's been a great run for the club and we can back to the league because this has definitely been a bonus for us this season.”