HEYBRIDGE Swifts boss Jody Brown has hit out at his side’s “detrimental” FA Trophy bye.

The Scraley Road side have randomly been picked to go straight into the first qualifying round – therefore skipping this weekend’s preliminary round – where they face a trip to Kings Langley on October 29.

However, while that may appear advantageous at face value, Brown says his club have missed out on a golden opportunity to pocket valuable prize money, worth £2,500.

And had they received a favourable home tie, it would also have been a lucrative day in terms of gate and bar takings.

“We’ve missed out on a very valuable source of income,” said Brown.

“We didn’t ask for this bye – no team at our level would – and I’m sure we’re not the only ones, so it’s not a cry for sympathy.

“But the only reason we enter these competitions is for the income, because with the best will in the world we’re not going to win the FA Cup or Trophy.

“You’d think that if you were offered the bye, you’d be given the prize money or at the very least be given the option of playing.

“We weren’t given either, so really feel we’ve missed out on an opportunity which every other club at this level will get.

“It’s detrimental on so many fronts and especially to a club at our level, in terms of trying to put some money into the bank account.

“Step four is the lowest level in the competition so we benefit so much in terms of potential prize and gate money.

“Obviously there’s no guarantee we’d have got through, but it would have been nice to have the opportunity.

“It’s also a disruption to our calendar, because we’ve now got a blank weekend, so we don’t benefit in any way, shape or form.”

After being unbeaten in their previous three matches, Swifts were brought back to earth after losing 3-0 at Dereham Town in Ryman League division north on Saturday.

Brown described it as a “reality check” as Joe Gatting scored twice for the Norfolk side.

He gave them a fifth-minute lead and then netted again in the latter stages, sandwiching a second goal on the stroke of half-time from Ryan Crisp.

“We’ve been playing well for five or six games, without getting the results we deserve,” said the Swifts boss.

“We’d only lost one in six before the weekend, although there have been too many draws in there.

“I felt we were in a good place and ready to kick on, but this brought us back down to earth and reminded us where we are. It was a reality check.

“We looked like a team that stayed up on the final day last season and in terms of our evolution, we’re not ready to look beyond that yet.

“First and foremost, we need to get a points tally to ensure that we finish above fourth from bottom.

“As a coach, I can see that our performances are far, far better than last year.

“Our levels are far higher but we still need to convert that into results on a consistent basis.

“Until we can do that, we’ve got to remember who we are and where we are and maybe we haven’t progressed quite as far as we thought.

“Now we need to knuckle down and churn out some results.”

Swifts were due to travel to Wivenhoe Town last night to begin their defence of the Tolleshunt D’Arcy Cup.