WITHAM Town manager Marc Benterman hopes a winning FA Cup display from his team will further strengthen the "big buzz" that he feels his new-look side are creating at the Simarco Stadium.

A trip to FC Clacton awaits Witham in the preliminary round on Saturday and Benterman's side will travel on the back of an unbeaten start to the BetVictor Isthmian League division north season after beating Hullbridge Sports 3-0 and drawing 1-1 with Bury Town in the last week.

That opening has continued the buoyant atmosphere that Benterman, his staff and players have been creating over the summer, so they want that to continue with an FA Cup run that the Witham boss admits could be very lucrative to the club's finances.

“As a football fan, the FA Cup is massive and I’ve had a couple of fantastic runs in it before," he said.

“It can also bring in some fantastic revenue for the club and that makes it very important.

“If you win on Saturday, then the prize money is almost £2,900 and you get £1,500 even if you lose in the next round, so go through a couple of rounds and it sets the club up for another year.

“You can see what we’re trying to do and it is important.

“We’ll treat it with the utmost respect, so it’s massive for us just as it’s massive for Clacton.

“An extra £2,500 in your pocket can be so so important.

“I’ve seen it before; go through a couple of rounds and it can change the make-up of the club and we want to do that.

“It’s the same with the FA Trophy and we want to go far in these competitions.

“One, it helps us progress with finances and it also helps put the club back on the map.

“I think there is a big buzz about the town about what we’re doing here at Witham Town and we’re hearing people praising us, which is nice.

“I live in Witham and it’s nice to be appreciated.

“We’re staying grounded but it’s nice to get support from the town.

“Things are changing and we just have to make sure we keep the momentum going, which a good FA Cup performance will help to do."

Despite Witham playing their league football a level above FC Clacton, Benterman isn't placing his team in the role of favourites.

In finishing sixth, the Seasiders had their best-ever finish in Thurlow Nunn League premier division last season and they have kept the majority of that record-breaking squad together, so Benterman is expecting a tight tie for his team.

He added: “I think we will be favourites purely because it’s a step four side against step five.

“We are step four, but if you look at the way Clacton have kept 90 per cent of their squad together from a very successful year last year then I’m not so sure.

“We’re favourites because it’s the nature of the game – we’re step four and they’re step five – but I like to think it’s a level playing field.

“We have had them watched so we’ve done our homework, we’ll prepare properly and we’ll treat them with the utmost respect but it’s the FA Cup and anything can happen.

“That’s why we love the FA Cup, because anything can happen."