Wilkin will warn players as he looks to avoid cup upset

Saints entertain Warrington Town in Saturday’s third qualifying round tie, 12 months on from when they exited the competition at the hands of another BetVictor Northern Premier League outfit.

Having given Marine a three-goal start in last season’s tie, Saints left it too late to complete a comeback and went out 3-2. Wilkin will be keen to impress upon his players the need to set down an early marker against Warrington who beat FC of Manchester in the previous round.

Wilkin said: “Warrington have got a bit of a cup pedigree and I’m sure will prove to be a robust side to play against. It won’t be easy and the players who came up against Marine from the same division will know how tough that game was last season.”

Tendai Daire and Shepherd Murombedzi will have to overcome slight knocks to be available for Saturday’s game. Saints have hit some decent form and Wilkin will be looking to his players to build on that on Saturday.

He said: “We’ve got to make sure we’re able to deal with the added pressure and expectation of the cup. We’re going into the tie on the back of a decent run so we must try and take that form into Saturday’s game.

“We’ve made steady progress in recent weeks and now we’re looking for that consistency and continuity in the league and cup.”