The Isuzu FA Trophy

'We go there and play without fear' says Lee Howells

Friday 06 Feb 2015
Bath City travel to Dover on Saturday in the FA Trophy Fourth Round

Bath City manager Lee Howells says his side will approach their FA Trophy Fourth-Round tie at Conference side Dover Athletic without fear. 

Conference South side City have already knocked out Bristol Rovers and Altrincham from the division above them and remain in contention for play-off place in the league. 

Howells is relishing the possibility of a third trip to the south coast in the space of a week and praised Chris Kinnear's side following their impressive run to the Third Round of the FA Cup. 

Dover Athletic v Bath City

FA Trophy
Fourth Round Proper
3pm, Saturday 7 February
The Crabble, Dover
Winners receive £8,000

"They've been fantastic," Howells told TheFA.com. 

"I remember going to play them in 1988 when I was with Cheltenham Town and they were always known as a relatively big club that attracted a lot of good players from London. 

"By the time we get home on Saturday we could have travelled over 1,000 miles inside seven days which is not ideal, but we have to accept that and get on with the job. 

"The players and coaching staff are all looking forward to it and it should be a terrific game. 

"We've had a few matches with them [Dover] over the years and we just can't seem to beat them – they're in excellent form so we know it will be a tough ask for us.

"We've been excellent in this competition so far, though. We've managed to mix up our playing style in each game. 

“The players and coaching staff are all looking forward to it and it should be a terrific game”

Lee Howells Bath City manager

The Romans also beat local rivals Gloucester City en route to the last eight, but Howells says overcoming teams from a higher division have given his squad a new-found belief for the remainder of the campaign. 

"The win at Bristol Rovers was a great day for the club," he added. 

"There was a big gate at the Memorial Stadium which brought in some good money for us. 

"We matched them physically, scored two excellent goals and came away with a thoroughly deserved win.  

"In the last round we played Altrincham, who we didn't know much about, but we got hold of some DVD's and studied them for a couple of days. 

"We had our biggest crowd of the season, which shows how seriously everyone at the club is taking this competition and we produced another impressive physical performance to beat them."

By FA Staff