ROYAL Wootton Bassett boss Paul Braithwaite has said that his players are champing at the bit to get a starting place for their FA Cup opener this weekend.

Braithwaite’s side play host to fellow Hellenic Premier Division outfit Bracknell Town in the extra preliminary round of the country's most famous cup competition this Saturday.

After adding to his squad in the summer, the Bassett chief is confident that he now has the arsenal to compete on multiple fronts this campaign.

“The FA Cup is massive and I have 20 lads who all want to play,” said Braithwaite.

“It is big for the club because of the financial help that comes with progressing through the rounds and we want to do as well as we can.

“We’ll approach it the same as a league game.

“We have got a decent squad and it is hard for me because I have got to leave people out, so I have said that we will rotate the squad sensibly.

“I think we have got the squad to show that there is a lot more about us than there was last year.

“We can change games now from the bench.

“It is always going to take time, as much as we try and keep things the same as last year.

“I think if you get the team effort and everyone singing off the same song sheet, you are halfway there.”

Steve Olphert may miss out due to injury after hobbling off after 20 minutes of Bassett's 2-0 win over Oxford City Nomads on Wednesday night, which came courtesy of goals from Harvey Scholes and Ryan Thomas.

“The first half wasn’t great. They had a 30-minute spell when they had all of the possession and they passed the ball, but it had no substance to it,” added Braithwaite.

“We just sat in, defended well, and made sure we didn’t leave any gaps."

Meanwhile, table-topping Highworth Town travel to Knaphill, who ended Fairford Town’s hopes at the same stage of the competition last season with a 3-1 win.

Shrivenham will be looking to put their poor start to their league campaign behind them when they travel to Cove in the FA Cup.