ROGER HERRIDGE admits he knows very little about Sandhurst Town as he prepares his Binfield side to face the Fizzers this Saturday.
Herridge’s Moles will be strong favourites to see off the side from the league below at Hill Farm Lane in the Hellenic Challenge Cup third round clash (3pm).
Despite recent league struggles, Binfield sit eighth in Hellenic Premier Division with Sandhurst down in ninth in One East.
But Herridge is well aware that this type of cup game can be a potential banana skin.
“I’ve got to be honest, the plan was to go and watch them or get somebody to watch them but I’ve not really had the opportunity,” the Binfield boss told The Wokingham Paper.
“Obviously it’s a bit of an unknown quantity to us.
“We certainly won’t be taking them for granted or treating them lightly.
“For them it’s probably a good time to play us because we’re a little bit away from where we want to be in terms of performance and fitness, especially not having played for a couple of weeks by the time we play them.
“It’s a cup game and shocks can happen in cups. We know that teams from a league below, in one-off games can compete with teams from the league above.
“It’s obviously a local derby and I’m sure they’ve got players in their team that are looking to prove that they’re good enough to play the level above and we’ll expect a tough game.”
And off the field Herridge is hoping some fresh arrivals can give his Binfield side the boost they need to snap out of their Christmas hangover.
The Moles were one of a number of teams to see their fixtures postponed last weekend but they are set to return to action when they host Sandhurst Town in the Hellenic Challenge Cup on Saturday.
That game comes on the back of two 3-0 league defeats against Ardley United and Thame United and Herridge admits his side have struggled since the turn of the year.
One of the areas which needs strengthening is up front as Herridge desperately seeks to find some support for leading scorer Liam Ferdinand.
The Binfield frontman has been in imperious form all campaign, netting 23 goals in 27 games, including more than a third of his side’s goals in the league.
But with young Luke Hayden second in the scoring charts with seven, experienced striker Jon Bennett has been drafted in on a dual-registration deal with Marlow and featured in both of the Moles’ last two games.
And Herridge says there could be both incomings and outgoings over the next couple of weeks.
“Players being injured has meant that it opens doors for other players and I’ve got to be honest, a few of them haven’t taken those opportunities and have been disappointing,” he admitted.
“I’ve got a couple of seven-day approaches in at the minute and you might see a couple come in and a couple go over the next week or so.
“We’ve signed Liam Whyte from Flackwell Heath. He might just be 18 and he’s been at Flackwell for the last couple of seasons.
“He’s had a few injury problems this year which has meant he hasn’t played quite as often as he would like. He travels all the way over there from Bracknell so we’re a little bit more on his doorstep.
“I’m quite pleased to sign Liam. He will certainly be a useful addition to us, that’s for sure.”
He continued: “Jon (Bennett) is a proven goalscorer at this level and he scores goals at the level above.
“It might take a couple of games for us to see the best of Jon because he needs minutes.
“He scores goals and we’re seriously lacking in that area. There’s a bit too much pressure on Ferdi (Liam Ferdinand) and Ferdi has had an injury as well.
“Luke Hayden has been injured so we haven’t had him, albeit he is fit now.
“Jonesy (Matt Jones) has had a difficult season in terms of fitness. He’s a bit off it at the minute. He’s subject to a seven-day approach from Woodley and I won’t be standing in their way.
“I’ve got the utmost respect for Jonesy and he’s a very, very good footballer when fit, but he might have to take a step back to get back to where he wants to be. We’ll see what happens with that over the next week.
“The door is always open if he wants to come back when he’s in a position fitness wise to do so.”
