WES Foderingham knows better than most how the Macclesfield players will be feeling when they take on Swindon tomorrow.
The non-league side will be looking for their second FA Cup win over Town in little over a year, having won 2-0 at the County Ground in the first round of the competition last season, and will also be keen to impress individually against a side chasing promotion from League One.
Foderingham once found himself in a similar situation when he played a pre-season game against Championship side Crystal Palace while on loan at non-league Bromley in 2010, with his superb display in a 0-0 draw eventually earning him a move to Selhurst Park, and the Town keeper knows the Macclesfield players will be looking to raise their game.
“The only game where I played against higher opposition was when we played Crystal Palace in pre-season, and that’s how I got to Crystal Palace really because I did okay and was man of the match,” he said.
“I’m sure their players will look at that and want to impress and they will try to do their best to show that they can play at our level.
“The lower side are trying to prove they can play at our level and get that extra bit of adrenaline and will give it their all.
“They try that little bit harder and try to get in your face a bit and don’t let you play your normal game but with the quality in the squad we should be able to overcome that.”
The 22-year-old is one of just a handful of surviving members from last year’s loss to the Silkmen and insisted this year’s clash is a game the young Town must take seriously.
“It’s difficult to go away to a non-league side and get a win, even though on paper we should go through, but the FA Cup isn’t like that and there are a lot of upsets so we need to be professional,” he said.
“I played in that game against Macclesfield last season and I know it won’t be easy this time.
“The manager has been telling us to give 100 per cent and that we can’t expect to win unless we do, and we go back to the Shrewsbury game (2-0 loss in August) where we turned up and just thought it was going to happen for us.
“We need to give a good account of ourselves and make sure we do our job right.”
Foderingham has also backed Town’s legion of former Premier League academy players to cope with the trip to Moss Rose.
“The drop from Premier League to League One is a big enough drop for them anyway to be honest so I think they know what to expect,” he said.
“They will know it’s not going to be a nice trip and I’m sure they have played in away reserve games at non league grounds so it’s not going to be a massive surprise for them.”
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