James Bolton fired up to tackle the Premier stars with Shrewsbury Town

The right-back was plying his trade with Gateshead in the National League last season but has shone in League One this term having made the jump of two divisions.

On Sunday he will line-up against Premier League players as David Moyes brings West Ham to Montgomery Waters Meadow.

“If you look at the teams I was playing last year in the Conference and then the teams this year, there is a big difference,” said Bolton.

“The likes of Wigan and Blackburn, who have been in the Premier League for so long, and now playing West Ham is really good and I’m looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s testing yourself. You only live once, so why not do it against the best sometimes?”

Former Stoke youngster Bolton, 23, reckons there is no pressure on Paul Hurst’s third tier high-fliers in front of the nationwide television cameras.

“There’s no pressure on us,” he insisted. “I think it’s more of a go and show what you can do.

“Hopefully we can cause an upset.”

Bolton joined boyhood club Stoke aged nine and was there until he joined Macclesfield as a 16-year-old.

“There’s films about West Ham and stuff like that. I’ve actually been to Upton Park a few times to support Stoke,” he said. “I used to go with my mates. The fans are good, it’ll be nice to be on the pitch in front of them.

“We used to go to a couple of away games and have a good laugh following Stoke.

“I never in a million years thought I’d be playing against West Ham. It just always felt so far away.”