CARL Macauley wants his Witton Albion side to take the initiative from the start when they host lower-ranked opponents in the FA Cup on Saturday.

They take on Bottesford Town, from the Northern Counties East League’s Premier Division, after failing to score in their past two matches.

That includes a stalemate against Marine on Tuesday.

The manager will demand an improved showing from his players in a game that is worth £6,000 to the victors.

“I want a big performance more than anything,” he said.

“We have to start on the front foot and take the game to them.

“I’ll be looking for us to be brighter, and to show more creativity in the final third.”

Albion exited last season’s edition without making a penny following a 2-0 defeat against South Shields.

However in Macauley’s first full season at the helm the team brought in a five-figure sum after winning two games and also reaching the FA Trophy first round.

He told the Guardian that shouldn’t be the main motivating factor for the players though.

“Of course the financial incentive is there for the club to progress – we know that,” he added.

“Bottesford will think the same.

“As a management team we’ll be reminding the lads that every game is important.

“In the competition, the further you go then the better chance there is of playing against a higher-ranked opponent or even one from the Football League.

“They should be wanting to test themselves against those sides, and that’s something we’ve done ourselves recently.”

Witton occupy 12th position in the Northern Premier League’s top-flight after following back-to-back wins over the Bank Holiday weekend last month with a 2-0 defeat at Bamber Bridge last Saturday before the draw against Marine.

They struggled to create chances against the Crosby outfit, who with a bit more care might have pinched maximum points during the game’s closing stages.

“We’ll see it as a point gained when we look back,” said Macauley.

“It was a poor performance, and so that should make us happy to have taken something from it.

“We know we can better and we’ll have to be, starting on Saturday.

“We’ve got home advantage, and we need to use that to make life difficult for our opponents.”