Olley wants Gateshead improvement as FA Cup banana skin lies in wait at Hednesford Town
Gateshead will hope to secure a place in Monday’s FA Cup First Round draw this weekend.
Greg Olley has challenged Gateshead to move on from two underwhelming performances and seal a place in the FA Cup first round with a win at Hednesford Town on Saturday.
The Heed have enjoyed some eye-catching success in the competition in recent years after reaching the first round proper in six of the last seven seasons and facing ties against the likes of Luton Town and Charlton Athletic during that time. However, Saturday’s trip to Northern Premier League West club Hednesford comes on the back of a disappointing defeat at Tamworth in midweek as the managerless Heed suffered only their third league loss of the campaign.
A banana skin of a tie lies in wait and the presence of the live BBC cameras should only act as a further warning to the Heed players. Olley, who is working alongside caretaker manager Ben Clark as part of an interim management team, warned his team-mates against taking their foot off the gas as they look to claim a place in Monday’s first round draw.
He told the club website: “The FA Cup is always a little change in the fixtures and one where we will look to progress. It’s such a big competition and I feel like in the last few years we’ve done really well. We’ve had these big ties, we want that again. We know they’re a good team, they’ve got a good backing behind them so we can’t take our foot off the gas. We need to go there and put the last couple of games, where we haven’t been quite at it, to bed and move on from that. We are looking to go down there, win, progress and go into the hat.”
There was a double dose of bad news for Gateshead in their midweek loss at Tamworth after key defender Robbie Tinkler hobbled out of the action in the early stages after picking up an injury. Olley revealed the former Middlesbrough academy player has been managing an injury in recent weeks and admitted his side missed his experience during the defeat against the Lambs.
“I think it’s been niggling him for a few weeks but he’s been managing it really well. I think he said it felt good before the game and if Tinks wasn’t right he would say so. I trust him wholeheartedly on that and it’s just unfortunate it’s happened so early in the game because we could have done with his experience in the middle of the pitch.”
The likes of Owen Oseni, Jean Belehouan and Tyrelle Newton could all come into contention after appearing as substitutes in the midweek loss.