Brackley boss Wilkin is wary of underdogs Worksop

The Brackley and Hereford players paid their respects to Queen Elizabeth II ahead of kick-off at St James Park on Tuesday

The Saints returned to action with a 2-1 victory over Hereford at St James Park on Tuesday, which extended their unbeaten run to four games in the Vanarama National League North.

But a different kind of test awaits them at the weekend as they entertain Northern Premier League East outfit Worksop Town in the second qualifying round.

From the outside looking in, it looks every inch a ‘home banker’ with Worksop sitting in ninth place at Step 4.

Brackley Town boss Kevin Wilkin was delighted with his team's win over Hereford

But Wilkin isn’t about to take anything for granted and he insists the “right mental attitude” will be key for his players.

“We all know about the beauty of the FA Cup, we have been in it long enough to know that anything can happen,” the Brackley boss said.

“Worksop probably have more experienced players in their side than we do.

“There’s some ex-Boston United players in there and their squad is full of very capable players.

“It’s not going to be an easy test by any stretch of the imagination.

“It’s going to take some winning but we have home advantage. We know what we are capable of and it’s about having the right mental attitude for the game.

“Psychologically, it’s far easier to play from a perspective where everything you do is a bonus.

“Their mental perspective will be an easier one to deal with than ours will be.

“But that’s the challenge we face and that’s the conundrum the players have got to get through.

“We will embrace that challenge and try to thrive on it.”

The Saints are certainly in good form ahead of Saturday’s cup clash.

Goals from Callum Stead and Cosmos Matwasa put Brackley 2-0 up on Tuesday night and they saw things out, despite Jack Evans pulling a goal back for Hereford late on.

That was a third win in the last four matches for Wilkin’s team, who have taken a bit longer than normal to get going this season.

And the Brackley boss added: “We are pleased. The period we went through of losing three games back-to-back is not something we have experienced too much.

“It tests you and we knew we’d had a big turnaround and things were going to take a while to settle down.

“We are still in that situation and there’s plenty of work still to do but it was a tremendous win on Tuesday night and now we can move on to the next one.”