AFC Fylde boss Dave Challinor is raring to go ahead of his side’s FA Cup clash with Barrow AFC tomorrow.

The Coasters host last season’s title rivals in the fourth qualifying round of the competition and Challinor believes it is the perfect chance for his side to prove themselves.

“It’s a game we are all very much looking forward to,” admitted Challinor. “As a one-off game, it couldn’t be much bigger for us. Financially it’s worth a lot to the winner.

“It’s also a chance to test ourselves against a team from a higher division. It’s almost like fate has thrown us together again after we fought it out for the league title so closely last season. Over the course of the campaign Barrow probably deserved to win the title. We did everything we could to try and catch them, but they managed to hang on.

“We were successful against them in both games last year, but there is a league between us now and I’m not sure which side goes into the game as favourites.

“I truly believe that we have a group of players that are capable of playing at a higher level and this is our best chance to prove that.

“We are on a great run of form, winning seven consecutive games and we want to win another. Winning games is a great habit to get in to at any level, but I’m adamant there is still more to come from us.

“We are top of the league, but Solihull still have a game in hand so they could potentially go back above us. So we need to enjoy our cup games, but make sure when we get back to the league we give it our full concentration.”

The Coasters have a shot at reaching the FA Cup first round proper for the third time in four years and Challinor is keen for his side to repeat history.  

“We said at the start of the season to get to the first round proper would be a great achievement,” added Challinor. “We have done well recently to manage that twice, but unfortunately we were unsuccessful on both occasions.

“It was disappointing the first time against Accrington Stanley, because I don’t think we did ourselves justice. It was a different story last year at Plymouth and we were fantastic and perhaps should have got something from the game. However, we came away from it with a lot of credit.

“They are great memories and something that you want to try and repeat. We would love to be in the hat on Monday, but there is still a long way to go before that.”