Shaun Gale up for the cup as Gosport Borough begin FA Trophy quest with tricky Salisbury tie

Boro have been handed a tricky third-round qualifying tie with Southern League Premier South rivals Salisbury the visitors to Privett Park on Saturday.

Gale's men head into it on the back of a 1-0 league defeat at in-form Harrow Borough in midweek, which saw them crash to a third defeat in four matches.

But Gale is hoping, with the help of a buoyant Gosport crowd, his men can bounce back and embark on a memorable FA Trophy run.

The Boro boss has enjoyed some great personal moments in the competition down the years, having reached the semi-finals as a player and assistant manager during his time at Hawks.

Gale also guided Hawks to a quarter-final while the club's boss and Boro themselves were beaten finalists in 2014.

The Gosport boss said: ‘We’re now focusing on Salisbury, which is a cup game, it’s a one-off game and it’s going to be a tough game - they’re a tough side Salisbury. We’re at home and we’ve got to make that advantage count.

‘It’s a game we want to win, as always, it would be nice to have a bit of a cup run, everyone wants it whether it’s the FA Vase or the FA Trophy and we’re no different.

‘As a player I got beat in the semi-final with Havant & Waterlooville so I’ve had a couple of semi-final losses. As a manager, I got to the quarter-final with Havant and lost away to York.

‘We’ve got decent history in it, but I just see it as another game I want to win. We’ll do doing our utmost - and the players will be - to win the game as I’m sure Steve (Claridge; Salisbury manager) and his team will be doing.’

In their previous home game, Gosport were cheered on by 802 fans as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Metropolitan Police on October 9.

And Gale is calling on the Boro faithful to come out again to help get them through against former Pompey and Gosport player Steve Claridge's Salisbury.

He added: ‘The fans came out in their droves the last home game against Met Police when we played reasonably well and unfortunately lost. I hope they come back again and get behind the boys.’

Defender Harry Kavanagh could be in Gosport's squad again against Salisbury after returning from a broken collarbone to make it on the bench at Harrow.

Meanwhile, Mike Carter has dual-signed with Wessex League Premier Division AFC Portchester as he continues his recovery from a long-term knee injury.