ROB Hopley will encourage his younger teammates to be courageous when Witton Albion take on FC United of Manchester in the FA Cup on Saturday.

The captain told the Guardian that an expected big crowd on a significant occasion for the visitors to Broadhurst Park provides a test he is confident they can pass.

“There is pressure, but it’s on our opponents and not us,” said Hopley.

“The evidence is these games bring out the best in our side, and we shouldn’t be fearful.”

That is a lesson to learn from Albion’s previous visit to Moston three years ago when they bowed out of the competition following a meek performance.

Only Anthony Gardner remains at the club from a side that started a 3-1 defeat.

READ: FC United 3-1 Witton: FA Cup match report

Witton will be greeted by hosts short on confidence after failing to win any of their home games to date in National League North this season.

They sit bottom of the table too after losing at Nuneaton last weekend.

In contrast, their guests make a short trip buoyed by sending out Spennymoor Town at the previous stage – a victory that increased to £15,000 prize money banked by Carl Macauley’s team so far.

However a 2-0 loss at Scarborough Athletic on Tuesday brought to an end a four-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

READ: Scarborough 2-0 Witton: match report

Hopley said: “We’ve been buzzing since [beating Spennymoor].

“A win like that can really boost a team’s confidence, and you can definitely sense that in our dressing room.

“We know what we have to get right on Saturday, and if we do those things we know we’ve a chance of getting through.”

A setback on the east coast at Boro followed a 4-0 win at North Ferriby United on Saturday.

It leaves Witton in the Northern Premier League Premier Division table’s bottom-half, a position Hopley feels doesn’t reflect performances on the pitch so far.

READ: North Ferriby 0-4 Witton: match report

However he stressed that a change of approach, along with an adjustment while new signings settle in, explains in part an inconsistent start in terms of results.

“We should have more points,” he said.

“However we don’t, and there is some work to do now to climb the table – we know that.

“I think we’ve improved recently though, certainly in an attacking sense, and that’s shown by the number of chances we’ve created in the past few matches.”