Hayes eyes an end to his FA Cup curse and a payday for Holbeach United

Seb Hayes is bidding to end his personal FA Cup hoodoo with Holbeach United on Saturday.

The Tigers boss, who steered his side to an emphatic 6-0 win over Sleaford Town in their ChromaSport UCL Premier Division opener last weekend, has never won an FA Cup game as manager.

Holbeach make the trip to Thurlow Nunn Premier Division side Ely City this Saturday (3pm) for an Extra Preliminary Round clash, with launching a money-spinning run in the competition very much on Hayes’ agenda.

The winners of Saturday’s showdown will bag £1,500 in prize money, which rises to £1,925 in the Preliminary Round and then £3,000 in the First Round Qualifying.

Hayes insists that Holbeach need to do well in the FA Cup to keep the club on a sound financial footing and is backing his side to get a result at The Ellgia Stadium.

“Everybody is obviously extra motivated for the FA Cup,” enthused Hayes. “This is one of those games where you can’t look at the form book.

“Ely haven’t had a competitive game yet, so we’re probably better placed after Saturday’s match with Sleaford – you can’t beat competitive matches.

“Maybe I was a little harsh on the lads after such a good win last weekend, but it was with Ely in mind – we can’t afford to go there and drop our standards.

“I genuinely believe that the minimum we should be doing is going there and getting a draw. If we can get the first goal, I’d back us to win.

“It’s a tough draw, though – I’ve never had an easy FA Cup draw as a manager and have never even won a game! It’d be good to put that record to bed.

“As a manager I’ve had good runs in the FA Vase before, so I know how it can generate money for the club. We’re targeting a few wins in each if we can, but the FA Cup in particular is all about the money for teams at our level.

“It’s important for us to get some money into the club and to keep ourselves on a sound financial footing.”

Hayes and his side will travel to Ely together in a mini-bus, with the boss keen to generate a good atmosphere before the cup clash.

He’s delighted with how his new signings have settled in and feels the dressing room is harmonious and packed with quality, despite Dan Dougill and Spencer Tinkler still being unavailable.

“We’ll get the banter flowing on the way down,” added Hayes. “But once we’re on that pitch, it’ll be all business.

“If we defend the way we did on Saturday and move the ball around like we did in the second half, I’m very confident.

“We are so much more flexible now and have great options – picking Saturday’s team was one of my hardest-ever selections.

“The players that came on impressed too, so it’ll be tough again on Saturday.”

Should Saturday’s game end in a draw, the replay will be at Carter’s Park on Wednesday night.

That would mean Tuesday night’s UCL Premier Division derby at Boston Town (7.45pm) would have to be rescheduled.