Victory in Saturday’s FA Vase second round will be historic for either Highgate United or Nuneaton Griff, but the respective managers have conflicting opinions about how their sides are performing.
Neither club has been further than round two in their histories but, while Nuneaton Griff are flying under Charlie Reardon this term, Highgate are failing to meet the expectations of their boss Ashley Pulisciano.
Highgate are fourth in the Midland League Premier Division having been promoted last term, yet Pulisciano believes his players’ collective performance levels are at “70 per cent”.
Nuneaton Griff v Highgate
The FA Vase
Second Round
3pm, Saturday 21 November
Pingles Stadium, Nuneaton Griff FC
Winning club will receive £1,000
But Reardon, whose team are unbeaten at their Pingles Stadium home so far and second in the Midland League Division One, is much more positive.
“I was expecting to be up there, but we are doing better than I could have imagined,” said Reardon, 33, who originally joined the club as a 19-year-old and took the managerial reins towards the end of last season.
“We’ve got a settled team and Highgate United will be our toughest test so far. We played them last year and lost both games, but we only have three players left in the team from last season.
“We are unbeaten at home so far this season, so we have no fear.
“It’s been nice to get through the first few rounds, but there is no pressure on us now playing against a team from a higher league. Everyone is really up for the game though.
“Our next 10 games all look tough, whether that’s in The FA Vase or the Midweek Floodlit Cup, but it’s a challenge we are all looking forward to.
“We tend to be stronger in the tougher games, sometimes when we are expected to win that’s when we come unstuck.”
Pulisciano set his team a target this term of a top-five finish as well as a strong run in The FA Vase.
And though they are on course to tick both boxes, he is far from satisfied.
“I’m not really happy with the squad,” said the former Aston Villa and West Brom schoolboy.
“I feel like we are being outplayed at the moment.
“I’m expecting to see more from the boys, I think we are playing at about 70 per cent at the moment. We need to start finishing more of our chances. We are creating enough, but not scoring enough.
“We want to win every game, no matter the occasion, but we know this weekend is important for the club and we can make a bit of history if we win.
“I’m expecting a very hard game from Nuneaton and if we aren’t at 100 per cent we are in danger of losing.”
