Davies wants Rebels to have 'no regrets' in FA Cup tie with Macclesfield

Photo credit: Zak Rana

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Scott Davies admits the distraction of this weekend’s huge FA Cup second round clash with Macclesfield at Arbour Park have been difficult to deal with in recent weeks, but now it’s only a few days away, he wants to ensure his Rebels have absolutely ‘no regrets’ after the tie.

Davies admits he’s allowed himself to dream of the possibilities that could come about should Slough Town get the better of their National League North visitors and make it through to the third round of the competition.

But he’s also wary of the despair he and his players might feel if they come up short in Sunday’s TNT Sports and Discovery+ televised tie (2pm KO).

“For me it’s a day of no regrets,” said Davies. “Knowing that you’ve given your best and given your all and if that’s the case, may the best team win. You don’t want to go away thinking ‘what if I’d done this, what if I’d made that tackle, or run a little harder’. It will be a game of fine margins, probably a close affair and on the day, it will be about the team who deals with the occasion the best and makes the least mistakes.

“Being sold out now it’s also going to be a hell of an atmosphere, not only from our fans but from the Macclesfield fans as well. They’ll travel well and be extremely loud as I know our fans will be as well.”

A victory could transform the fortunes of the club for a good few years to come - should they win and be drawn out of the hat alongside Arsenal, or Manchester United or Liverpool in the next round. The financial windfall of such a tie could also be lifechanging.

With that in mind, Davies spoke of a ‘’nervous excitement’ that’s been building for him ahead of Sunday’s clash - which kicks off at 2pm - but he’s confident his side will handle the occasion.

Slough lost Saturday’s league game at Dover Athletic 2-0, with the player manager having made seven changes to the side to ensure players remained fit for this weekend. However, their overall form in the league has been respectable in the past few weeks with wins over AFC Totton and Farnborough just about keeping the team out of the relegation zone.

“The distraction of the FA Cup has been difficult to deal with during the league campaign,” said Davies. “if I’m brutally honest. It’s the only thing people have spoken about for the past month and I’m glad we’re getting to the point where the game is coming around in a few days.

“It’s one we’re looking forward to. It’s a nervous excitement, and the nerves come from the thought of not getting through and thinking about the negatives.

“But the excitement comes from the ‘what ifs’ if we do manage to get through and the possibilities of getting a huge tie for the football club. We know there is so much to gain but we could lose so much at the same time.”

On their approach to Saturday’s league defeat at Dover, a result which dropped them back into the National League South relegation zone, Davies said: “We made seven changes. Would we have made seven changes with the cup game coming up, no we probably wouldn’t have.

“We had to do it, the pitch was extremely heavy and those players who are more susceptible to muscle injuries, we had to protect and look after.

“It wasn’t a game that we wrote off, I still felt there was enough in that team to go and get a result at Dover.

“On reflection, with the result being what it was, I still don’t think that was the wrong decision, because we’ve come through that game injury free. We had to have this weekend in mind.

“It’s been a real distraction; I’ve had to manage the group and manage people’s expectations. And manage their minutes as well just to make sure we have a fully fit squad to choose from this weekend. Apart from Henry (Ocheing) Balu and Dan Roth, everyone else should be fit. We’re in a healthy state of mind at the moment and hopefully that bodes well for Sunday.”

Davies expects to have most of his squad, barring a few high-profile absentees such as his captain Henry Ochieng, fit for Sunday’s clash with a Macclesfield side that has also been struggling for form ahead of Sunday’s clash. They held Scarborough Athletic to a 1-1 draw at home on Saturday but prior to that were well beaten 5-1 away by AFC Fylde.

“We’ve done a lot of homework,” added Davies.

“We’ve watched them a few times and someone has been to their games and sent us scouting and match reports. We know they’re a good side, but we also know that if we play well, we’ll have a chance in the tie. If we’re a little bit off it, chances are we’ll get beat. We must be at our very best and that comes from hard work, decision making and being ruthless in front of goal and defending our goal well.

“They’ve got some good players, but we believe we have players who can hurt them. I believe it will be a fantastic advert for the FA Cup, but also for our level of football.”