Liam Watson dangles a cup carrot to Bucks
AFC Telford United manager Liam Watson has told his players they must perform against Grimsby Town if they want to play in the FA Cup tie at Bristol City.
The Bucks begin a crunch week of fixtures when they host the Mariners tomorrow before travelling to face Chester on Tuesday night.
Those games are followed by next Saturday's Cup fixture at League One leaders Bristol City – a match which Watson has admitted affected his players' performance against Braintree.
And the Telford boss has now warned his players to perform or risk not being selected against City.
He said: "If my players have any intention of playing against Bristol City, then they have to perform against Grimsby and Chester.
"That game should be a real motivator but instead it got into their heads against Braintree.
"We have got a huge week and we want as many points on the board as possible before we go into the Christmas period."
"We almost have a fully fit squad to choose from and we also have Mike Grogan back from suspension, who gives us a bit more competitiveness and also chips in with a few goals.
"The players need to go out, win some points and show me why they should play next week."
Despite lying second in the table, the Mariners slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Kidderminster Harriers last Saturday.
And Watson feels they are a side the Bucks can beat, saying: "They have got good pace and won on Tuesday night against Woking (3-1), but they slipped up at the weekend.
"We have shown we can compete against the sides at the top of the table so we have to go out and do that again. We are confident this is a game we can get something from."
