Cliff Akurang is no stranger to the magic of the FA Cup and he wants his Heybridge Swifts players to make sure they fully enjoy the wonder of the famous old competition.

Heybridge head to Ryman League division north rivals Redbridge for a preliminary round tie today, looking to book a first qualifying round spot against either Uxbridge or Northampton Spencer.

There is a £1,925 prize pot up for grabs this weekend and manager Akurang knows how important that could be to the club, but he wants his young group of players to experience the particular magic that a run in the FA Cup can bring.

The Swifts boss has no shortage of FA Cup memories as a player himself, having made it into the third round proper with Barnet, when they were only denied a second round date with Southampton by a single goal.

And his five appearances in the first round with Thurrock twice, Boreham Wood, Bishop’s Stortford and Chelmsford were all televised so he knows what a special experience a good run can be.

He said: “I know the prize money is massive to clubs and money from a good run can transform a club, so they are looking at it as a way that they could use it to improve facilities and build.

“But for me personally, I want the players to experience a cup run and have that exposure, to enjoy all the things that I did as a player.

“A cup run can make you a bigger man and player and can give you something to show your kids.

“It’s always a massive occasion for me.

“It’s completely different from league football.

“You stick to a gameplan in the league, looking for weaknesses, but with the magic of the FA Cup, it’s all about momentum.

“You can have one shot that lifts the fans, you run for every ball knowing you may blow up after 50 minutes but you still put everything in and know you’ll just have to dig deep later on.

“You know you have that one chance and it means so much more to you than a league game.”

However, Heybridge will head into the game on the back of two Ryman League division north defeats.

They have been unable to build on the 4-2 win they had at Soham Town Rangers the previous week as they lost 2-0 at home against Dereham Town on Saturday and then followed that with a 3-2 defeat at Great Wakering Rovers on Tuesday.