Rangers eye lucrative FA Trophy run
Stafford Rangers will find out today their first opponents in the FA Trophy where £4,000 in prize money and the chance to reach the first round proper will be at stake.
The Marston Road men will be in the hat for the draw at FA headquarters in London, with the third qualifying round tie to be played on Saturday November 21.
Cup success has been a rarity for Rangers in recent times, with exits in the FA Cup and FA Trophy at the first time of asking last season followed by another tumble this term in the FA Cup at Coventry Sphinx.
Now the non-league cash cow could offer the club a decent chance of a lucrative cup run, with the prize money going up round-by-round by £1,000 increments without factoring in the possibility of a big draw at a Blue Square Premier club.
Life at Marston Road will go on whatever the outcome, but chairman Jon Downing admits some rare success in the competition could boost the coffers significantly.
He said: "It makes a big difference, you would love to have it as part of the club's budget but it's something you can't legislate for. We need to sustain a good position in the league, anything we can do on top of that is a bonus.
"The club's business plan operates without a cup run, although I have to admit that some revenue brought in from the FA Trophy would be most welcome, as things are still a bit tight financially.
"I would love a great cup run, as would most of the fans, so lets hope we can do a bit better this year."
