Emley AFC manager Richard Tracey says his side can approach Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup Second Qualifying Round clash against Spennymoor Town with confidence as the Pewits look to respond following a difficult afternoon at Bury.

Emley welcome National League North side Spennymoor to the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground on Saturday afternoon, with kick-off at 3pm. The Pewits head into the tie following a 4-0 defeat against Bury at Gigg Lane last weekend, when three goals in the space of 11 first half minutes put the hosts firmly in control before a fourth arrived shortly after the restart.

Tracey admitted his side were second best on the afternoon but believes the demands of Emley’s recent schedule also played a part.

He said: “We were really disappointed with the outcome. I thought we started alright and, at 1-0, we had a good chance which they got a block on and it went over. It’s not about making excuses for the lads, but I think the 120 minutes in a very tough FA Cup game on Wednesday night caught up with us. We played Sunday and Wednesday, whereas Bury had played on the Saturday, so in terms of recovery and having the opportunity to work on things, we had very little time. We couldn’t train Tuesday, we played Wednesday and we couldn’t train Thursday, so we had very little preparation in terms of being able to work on things that could impact the Bury game. They had a full week to prepare. The reality is that if any of their five substitutes became available, you’d bring them into our squad. That’s the depth of quality they’ve got and they’d more than likely be pushing to start for us. Their quality and depth, combined with us not being at our best, left us well short on the day.”

Bury’s victory brought Emley’s unbeaten away record to an end and continued to underline the challenge of life at Step Three following the club’s promotion to the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

Tracey added: “There were moments where we were alright, but it became a case of hanging in there and making sure the scoreline didn’t get too bad. That’s disappointing because it’s not a position we’ve been in very often and it’s certainly not somewhere I want us to be. I’m not suggesting we would have gone there and turned them over if we’d been marginally better. We would have had to be considerably better to get a result. I think we made it pretty easy for them. As a team, we never really got going. We played too much as individuals, both attacking and defending, and that makes you easy to pick off.

“Everyone at this level has some really good players and that makes it challenging. Here, everyone is a good footballer. I’d say exactly the same about our players, but you’ve got to compete and make tactical decisions collectively on the pitch to affect the game. I don’t think we did that well enough against Bury and we paid the price for it.”

Emley now has an opportunity to put that disappointment behind them as attention switches back to the FA Cup. The Pewits earned their place in the Second Qualifying Round after a hard fought First Qualifying Round tie against Bishop Auckland.
A 1-1 draw at the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground forced a replay in County Durham, where Emley secured an impressive 2-0 extra time victory to progress.

Saturday represents another step up in opposition, with Spennymoor established at Step Two in National League North. However, Tracey believes that means much of the expectation will be on the visitors.
He said: “Everyone wants to play in the FA Cup. It’s a great competition and we’re going up against a team from the division above us, so they’ll expect to win and we’re at home. From our point of view, that gives us a free hit. It gives us the opportunity to go out, play with confidence, be aggressive on the football and give ourselves the opportunity to win the game. They’re an established Conference North side and have been a strong club at that level for a number of years, so the expectation is on them to win. We know they’ve got some fabulous players and Jason Ainsley, who is temporarily in charge, has been the first team manager there previously and has been very successful. Jason knows what he’s doing, he has a lot of respect within the dressing room and they’ll be a real threat. Ultimately, it’s the FA Cup and it’s a one off game. If we perform really well and they’re not quite at their best, we’ve got every chance of winning the game. That’s what we’re going to set out with the intention of doing because we want to be playing in this competition for as long as possible and we want to progress.”

Spennymoor arrive in West Yorkshire having taken six points from their opening nine National League North fixtures. Their most recent outing ended in a 1-1 draw against Macclesfield.
Saturday will be the first competitive meeting between the current incarnations of Emley AFC and Spennymoor Town.

The Emley boss also provided an insight into the challenges the club is facing in strengthening the squad following promotion to Step Three. The recent departures of Laurence Sorhaindo and Bailey Thompson, coupled with injuries within the squad, have left Tracey and his management team looking at potential additions. But the manager says recruitment at this level is considerably more complicated than Emley has experienced in previous seasons. Tracey explained: “We’re working incredibly hard behind the scenes to bring players in. If people knew the amount of work that was going on and the number of conversations we’re having, they’d understand how difficult recruitment is at this level. It’s nearly impossible at times. You’re talking to professional clubs about players, agents are involved and some players don’t want to drop to Step Three because they want to play at Step Two. You can have conversations where somebody says they’re going to come and then another club comes in and suddenly they go somewhere else. It’s really difficult. At this level, clubs only have to contact you about a player. If you want somebody who is contracted elsewhere, you’ve potentially got to buy that player. We’re not in a position where we can go out and pay transfer fees for multiple players. We’ve got to be patient. We’re working really hard behind the scenes, we’ve spoken to a lot of players and we’re constantly reviewing the situation. But we’ve also got to believe that anybody we bring in will make us better. Otherwise, you’re bringing somebody in who is potentially pushing out one of our own players without actually improving the team.”

There have also been changes to Tracey’s squad, with Laurence Sorhaindo and Bailey Thompson both moving on. Speaking about Sorhaindo’s departure, Tracey praised the striker’s attitude throughout his time with the Pewits and explained: “Lawrence is a fantastic man. He’s been incredibly patient when he’s been with us, particularly during spells where he hasn’t been starting games. I spoke to him in the summer and tried to tempt him to stay, and he said he was going to give it a good crack with us. He came back, but he probably wasn’t getting the game time he’d hoped he would. When the approach came in, everything was done in the right way. Danny rang me himself to discuss it and was absolutely straightforward. It’s sad to see Lawrence go, but ultimately we couldn’t guarantee him the football he wanted.”

Thompson has also departed, although Tracey admitted his exit was particularly disappointing after the manager had made clear that the forward remained part of his plans. He said: “We made it clear to Bailey, especially after Lawrence had left, that we didn’t want him to go. He was very much part of what we wanted to do moving forward. Bailey had three or four clubs come in for him and I think he felt a move was the right thing for him, which was really disappointing for us. When Bailey first came in, I thought he was exceptional. We were trying to work with him to get him back to that level, but ultimately Bailey made the decision to move on. At the point he made that decision, he didn’t have permission to speak to another club and he made the decision that he didn’t feel he was in the right position to play in the FA Cup game. That was frustrating for us because we’re trying to make Emley as competitive as possible and have the strongest squad available. It wasn’t a case of us not selecting Bailey; it was a choice that he made. We wanted Bailey to stay however he has chosen to move on and now we have scope to see if we can find a replacement.”

Tracey stressed that Emley remain competitive financially, but the economics of operating at Step Three have presented the club with a new recruitment landscape.
He added: “This isn’t me saying our budget isn’t good or competitive. It’s simply that players at this level can want a lot of money. When you’ve already built a squad and several players are under contract, you don’t necessarily have huge flexibility within the budget. We’ve unfortunately lost players to injuries and we’ve had some money freed up with players leaving, so there is scope to bring somebody in. But it has to be the right profile for what we want. We’ll continue to work hard, but we won’t gamble with the club’s money on somebody who we don’t believe will improve us as a unit. It’s very different at this level when you’re trying to find players. Almost everyone you speak to has an agent. It’s a different world and we’re learning about it as we go.

“I think that’s something supporters who genuinely come to watch Emley and want the club to do well might find interesting. It helps people understand how different recruitment is at this level because we’ve found it really challenging. We’re all in this together.”

Several members of the squad are currently gaining valuable minutes elsewhere, with Tracey pleased with the progress being made.
He said: “We’ve got a number of players out getting football. Joe Clegg is out at the moment and doing really well, Carlos is playing regularly and Jacob has won two or three Man of the Match awards while developing in men’s football at Harrogate Railway. There are some real positives there because these players are getting the minutes they need.”

Tracey also confirmed that Ellis Farrar is struggling with a hamstring problem, while Alex Kiwomya has been receiving treatment after turning his ankle during the FA Cup tie against Bishop Auckland. There was some positive squad news, however, with Nile Heaton returning to the club. Tracey said: “On a positive note, although he isn’t available immediately, Nile Heaton has re-signed for us. It’s great to have Nile back. He gives us additional depth in the squad and we know the calibre of player we’re bringing back into the group. At the moment we’ve got several lines of conversation open with players about potentially coming in, either permanently or on loan. We’re doing our due diligence and making sure anyone we bring in is the right fit for the football club.”

Following Saturday’s FA Cup tie, the Pewits have another cup fixture to look forward to when Brodsworth Main visit the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground in the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup on Tuesday evening. Tracey expects that game to provide an opportunity to utilise more of his squad.
He added: “It’s a great opportunity to use the squad. We’ve got players out on dual registration and it gives us the chance to get them back in an Emley shirt, see where they’re at and see how that experience has helped them. James Murray has been everywhere with us and has been on the bench for a lot of games, so it’s an opportunity to get him a run-out and see where he’s at. We’ll use the squad, but it’s still a game we want to win. It’s also nice to see Brodsworth back again. When I was playing, they were a good Northern Counties East League side. I played at their ground a couple of times in the County Cup myself and they were a good non-league club before unfortunately dropping down the pyramid. It’s great to see them back in this competition and we’re looking forward to the game.”