Whitton United boss Shane Coldron says his side have ‘nothing to lose’, as they take to the road in the FA Cup this weekend.

The Greens travel to Basildon in a preliminary round clash, and face a stiff task against a Step 4 side who put Stowmarket Town out of the last round.

Coupled with victory over Mildenhall in their opening Bostik North clash last Saturday, the Essex side, who clinched promotion to Step 5 from the Essex Senior League on the final day of last season, have made a good start to the current campaign.

“There is no pressure on us,” said Coldron.

“It’s a game we have nothing to lose. If we don’t win, it won’t be a surprise, but if we do, it’s a bit of a giant-killing.

“At the start of the season we wanted to sustain our league place at this level and enjoy an FA Cup and FA Vase run. We have won one round of the FA Cup and have a Vase clash next week,” (against Hatfield Town, at King George V).

Buoyed by their first Thurlow Nunn Premier victory of the season against Hadleigh on Tuesday night, Coldron’s young squad will approach this weekend’s clash with positivity.

“I missed the first two games of the season because of a stadium ban,” Coldron admitted.

“But after we drew at Fram and then beat Fram in the FA Cup, we have been playing well.

“We have been hit with a few injuries which haven’t helped this early in the season, but as a club and a team we have coped well with the move up to Step 5.

“The team is a talented bunch and already looking at the league table, there are only a few teams who are unbeaten. Perhaps it won’t be the one or two-horse race many were predicting at the start of the season.”

Nick Ingram came off the bench to net twice on Tuesday against Hadleigh in the 2-1 win and Coldron admits his players are enjoying playing at grounds higher up the pyramid.

“In the Premier Division, you go to more established grounds. It inspires young players to achieve more. That’s what playing higher up the pyramid is all about.”

Whitton won £2,250 for their extra preliminary round win against Fram in the FA Cup. The victors this weekend will receive £2,890.