‘If you care for your club, you want a good cup run’ – Hawks boss Paul Doswell ahead of FA Cup Hampshire derby with AFC Totton

While at non-league Sutton United, he masterminded a famous victory over Leeds United en route to a fifth round home tie with Arsenal.

That 2016/17 run remains one of the most memorable by any non-league club in modern times.

But Doswell has also known the contrasting emotions of being on the receiving end of a cup humiliation.

And memories of dismal days against minnows Burgess Hill and Alton, huge upsets in front of just a couple of hundred supporters, live with him just as much as the headline-making ones that demanded national media attention.

With those in mind, he knows Hawks cannot afford any complacency in this weekend’s second qualifying round home tie with two tiers lower AFC Totton.

As well as the chance of drawing a big name in the first round, the financial incentives of a good cup run are also high in Doswell’s mind.

Two seasons ago, Hawks banked around £95,000 from reaching the second round proper (including £37,500 from having their tie at Marine screened live). Last season, they won almost £19,000 in prize money alone from reaching the first round.

For a club at their level, during pandemic times, those sums were huge.

‘You put pressure on yourself because you want to help, you want to contribute (financially via a good FA Cup run),’ said Doswell.

‘If you care for your club, you want a good cup run.

‘At Sutton we made around £1.5m from our run and that basically saved our lives.

‘Parts of the ground were close to being shut down, there was an asbestos problem in the stand, bits were rotten - we didn’t tell anyone that at the time because you don’t want to give people bad news.

‘Unless you’re an Ebbsfleet or have a very rich owner, every non-league club needs help (financially) and we’re no different.

‘Derek (Pope, Hawks chairman) is a great benefactor for the club, but we need to help him out.

‘So I do get it, I get the importance of it - this is the best competition in the world for non-league clubs.

‘Totton have a squad that, for the level they’re at, they should win their league in a canter.

‘They will try to do to us what we would try to do to a National League team or a Charlton Athletic.

‘I have known the highs, the life changing moments, but I also remember losing to Burgess Hill, that was a real sickener.’

Burgess Hill won 3-1 at Doswell’s Sutton when they were two tiers lower in the pyramid - the same difference between Hawks and Totton.

On another occasion, Wessex League club Alton, also from two leagues lower, went to Sutton’s Gander Green Lane and inflicted a shock 2-1 defeat on Doswell’s side who were top of the Isthmian League at the time.

There will be some familiar faces in the Totton squad this weekend, such as ex-Hawks pair Scott Rendell - who Doswell recommended to Stags boss Jimmy Ball - and Mike Carter.

Another Westleigh link is Stags youngster Ethan Taylor, son of the Hawks’ record goalscorer James.

And Hawks defender Benny Read can expect to see a very familiar face in the Totton midfield - his younger brother Freddie!

Hawks striker Danny Wright will miss the cup tie with the hamstring injury that sidelined him for Wednesday’s 4-1 National League South win over Hungerford.

In his absence, Hawks rattled up their sixth successive league win, during which they have netted 18 times.