ROGER HERRIDGE admits he is not happy with his record in the FA Vase.
The Binfield boss takes his side down south to face Fareham Town on Saturday in the second qualifying round of the national competition which culminates at Wembley in May.
And after winning just one game in this competition in the last three years, Herridge is itching to succeed in Hampshire this weekend.
“I’ve got to be honest, my record in the Vase is not as good as I’d like it to be,” the Moles manager told The Wokingham Paper.
“We had a reasonable run when I was assistant to Tally (Mark Tallentire) in 2013 before we got knocked out by a very good Larkhall Athletic side 1-0.
“I’d certainly like to put my Vase record straight and have a little journey in it.
“Hopefully that will be this year.”
However, Binfield go into the game on the back of a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Flackwell Heath in the Berks and Bucks Senior Cup on Tuesday night.
The evening went from bad to worse when Jack Thompson-Wheeler joined the lengthy Moles injury list which includes the likes of Joe Gritt and Gary Smith, while Josh Howell is still suspended.
“The injuries are a concern,” admitted Herridge.
“We’ve certainly got a few headaches ahead of the Vase game and I’ve got a little bit of work to do to make sure we’re competitive come Saturday afternoon.
“It’s not ideal at the moment. I know you can’t always put an unchanged side out, but we don’t even get close to it at the minute. We’re having to make three or four changes every game.
“It keeps people involved, but we just can’t get a settled side out, which is just not helping us really.”
Fareham have made a tough start to their Wessex League campaign, sitting 18th in the table with just two wins from 10 matches.
And having seen the side play, Herridge is confident Binfield have what it takes to make it
into the third qualifying round.
“It’s a very winnable game,” he said.
“It will all depend on what sort of side we can get out.
“In FA Vase games, you want to be drawn at home really.
“We’ve watched them and I’m not sure it’s a pitch where you can get the ball down and pass it so we’ll need to give that some thought.
“We obviously can’t foresee winning the FA Vase because there’s some really good teams in it. But we’d certainly like a little journey in it that’s for sure.
“It’s a game we know we’re capable of winning. League form tends to go out the window in games like this anyway so we’ll go there, hopefully with a competitive squad and hope to come back with a result.”
Games come thick and fast with attention then quickly turning to a Hellenic Premier Division clash with Wantage Town on Monday with the Moles seeking a fourth straight league win.
But Wantage are in good form themselves, sitting fourth ahead of their trip to Hill Farm Lane (7.45pm).
“It’s another tricky one,” said Herridge.
“We don’t know if we’ll pick up any more injuries at the weekend, but we’ll have Josh Howell back and should have Ian Davies and Jeff Brown available.
“We just need to get through this little period that we’re having.
“I’m looking forward to the days when I’ve got everyone available really and it gives you more difficult decisions to make.”
