Minnows East Preston are planning a party whether they cause an upset in the FA Cup tomorrow or not.

There are two snags though. Firstly, the party is eight months away and secondly their players will have to dip into their own pockets to pay for it if they lose to Southern League visitors Uxbridge.

For East Preston's players, there is no fat win bonus if they get through tomorrow's second qualifying round tie.

There is prize money of £3,750 up for grabs for the winners but most of it would be eaten up by buying new equipment for the club, with just a little thrown into the players' pool for an end-of-season jolly.

This is the fag end of football. There are no £50,000 a week wages, no flash cars or pop star wives.

But it is still the FA Cup and County League side East Preston, one of the smallest teams left in the competition, are determined to enjoy their big day by moving into unchartered territory of the third qualifying round.

Manager Vic Short, who has never taken a team this far in the world's greatest club competition, said: "You have to remember we are only a village and were playing in the West Sussex League just a few years ago.

"We got £2,250 for getting through the last round (against Merstham). We put £250 in a pot for an end-of-season do and spent the rest buying 20 tracksuits for the boys.

"We try to do things professionally here and look after our players.

"Every player gets a little bit but it is only expenses and what they get they probably spend behind the bar on a Saturday night. It is certainly not an amount with which you could pay the mortgage!

"We do a little something at Christmas and at the end of the season when we are planning a night out at the dogs.

"We need some more lights for training so that is where some of the money might go.

"We also could do with some zip-ups, the all-in-ones the substitutes wear for warming up. But they cost £20 a time and you would need five of those just for the first team.

"People don't realise what it costs to run a senior club. We haven't got a backer and we have to raise everything ourselves through bar takings and gate money. The FA Cup money is important to us."

Money will not be on the minds of East Preston's players at the Lashmar tomorrow. They will be playing for pride and prestige and Short is just hoping they can give a decent account of themselves.

He said: "One of our players, Josh Sutcliffe, was working in Uxbridge last week and went to have a look at them. They are a strong side, probably on a par with Worthing.

"We will have to be at our best to get anything out of it. We know we are one of the smallest clubs left in it but we are at home and hopefully that might work to our advantage.

"We have one or two ideas how Uxbridge play but we have got to concentrate on ourselves. We must stop giving goals away. We always look dangerous going forward but we need to tighten up at the back."

Defender Duncan Barnes, who is in the Royal Navy, misses tomorrow's game as he has been called back to base in Scotland but striker Lee Farrell returns after missing last weekend's RUR Cup game as he was on a training weekend with the British deaf squad.