BRIDPORT manager Adam Fricker feels the Bees will be “stepping into the unknown” when they travel to Romsey Town in the FA Vase first qualifying round on Saturday (3pm).

Wessex League Division One side Romsey have produced an unbeaten start to their league season, with two wins and a draw in their opening trio of games.

Bridport are fresh from a resounding 5-0 victory over Hallen, earning a tough FA Cup first qualifying round tie at home to Evo-Stik Southern Premier South side Tiverton Town.

Fricker’s men were knocked out at this stage of the Vase last season when Wincanton Town took a 2-1 triumph from St Mary’s Field.

Speaking to the Bridport News, Fricker admitted the Bees were favourites “on paper” due to their status one league higher than Romsey.

He said: “Looking at their form they’ve started well. I don’t know too much about them. From our perspective we’ll go out there and play the way we normally play.

“You’re stepping into the unknown when you play teams from other leagues. On paper we probably are the favourites but going down there we don’t know what to expect.

“We’ll set up like we normally do and hopefully cause them the issues. With the FA Vase it’s a serious competition that we can really progress in.

“The Western League is one of the higher-ranked leagues in the Vase – we’ll certainly be going all out.

“We were disappointed last season we got knocked out by Wincanton, so we need to make sure we improve on that.”

Lee Sweet and Tom Richardson

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could be contention for the Bees, but Andy Martin is unavailable.

Dorchester loanees Ben Morris and Josh Williams are expected to return to squad, joining prolific new striking addition Sam Clarke, who has completed a protracted move to the club.

Fricker said: “We were a bit light on Saturday, with late tests for Lee and Tom. I expect Josh and Ben to come back into the squad.

“(Steve Thompson, Dorchester boss) was keen to let them play in the FA Vase, but Andy is missing.

“We will finally have Sam from Weston-super-Mare. He’ll go straight into the squad – a proven goalscorer. It’s going to take him a while to get his match fitness.

“He’s not played properly for a good season with work as well. He works between London and Bristol and he had to make sure it works for him.

“He really needed the time to decide whether or not he was going to fully commit. I know him well and he already signed for us. He is going to be a massive plus.

“We had him at Chard for three seasons and he scored 120 goals, he certainly knows where the back of the net is.”

Commenting on the FA Cup tie with Tiverton, Fricker admitted he was delighted to secure a fixture against a team ranked two divisions above the Bees.

He said: “I’m really happy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s going to be a massive shock if we pull anything off – I’m not saying that we will.

“For me, when we drew Cadbury Heath in the FA Cup (last season) I was disappointed that we got a team in our league. I wanted a decent side so the lads could go up against them.

“Hopefully we can get a decent crowd down there, although I would have liked Weymouth or Dorchester.

“It’ll be a great day for the club. We’ve got some great footballers and it’s an opportunity for the lads to put themselves in the shop window.”