United continue their journey in the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday as they travel to Brightlingsea Regent.
United manager Gary Johnson will be hoping to extend his unbeaten run but Brightlingsea will provide another tough test on the road.
“We know quite a lot about them [Brightlingsea],” said Gary Johnson at his weekly press call. “We’re trying to keep it professional. We know their strengths and possible weaknesses. We did the same with Lymington and it came off. It was true to form as in the report that we had. We go there knowing what we have to do.”
The Gaffer is aiming to take 16 players with him to the match instead of the full contingent allowed in the FA Cup. United will only have five substitutes instead of seven, but this is intentional.
“I probably won’t be travelling to Brightlingsea with seven subs,” added the Gaffer. “You can only use three, and it’s five hours in the coach there, five hours in the coach coming back. I think it would be better if we only take the five.”
Defender Ben Wynter misses out on the match due to illness, but it is hoped that he will recover for next week’s trip to Eastbourne. Midfielder Chris Regis has been allowed time away from Plainmoor to find another club.
The Yellow Army take on a 600 miles round-trip from Torquay to Essex to see their team face the Bostick Premier Division side in the Third Qualifying Round. The Gaffer understands if some can’t make the game, despite United’s strong fan base around London.
“We’ll understand if they don’t want to make the five-hour trip. If they are there then we will appreciate their efforts.”
Brightlingsea Regent are currently experiencing their most successful FA Cup run. The R’s have only managed to earn 1 point out of a possible 15 at home in the league this season and find themselves in 19th place.
“We have got to go there professionally, work hard and get the win” said United ever-present Asa Hall, “We’ve had a good start [in the FA Cup] we have to get through the weekend and stay in the hat”. “The boys really want a cup run and everyone’s excited for it”.
When asked on how far United could progress in the cup, Jamie Sendles-White explains “If we have a good togetherness and really believe we can go far then I don’t see why we can’t get to the third round and maybe a bit further”
“We prepare for every game exactly the same, and try to get into a routine of that for the season, so that it doesn’t feel any different and there’s no extra pressures on the game“
Emirates FA Cup | Brightlingsea Regent Vs Torquay United | 06/10/18 | 3:00pm KO | For travel and entry details click here.