By Will Lefebve

Worthing manager Chris Agutter is relishing a huge FA Cup occasion.

But he admits he has some tough decisions to make.

Rebels host League Two strugglers Morecambe in the first round at the Sussex Transport Community Stadium tomorrow.

Boss Agutter, whose side are in a Vanarama National League south play-off place, said: “We’ll look forward to the challenge of Morecambe.

“We’ve got some massive selection headaches, I’ll be honest. I said to Azza (Aarran Racine), Deano (Dean Hammond) and the other staff, ‘We’ve got a few difficult decisions to make here’, which is good.

“Jack Wadham coming back in at Bath was very good, the boys that came on, Tommy Willard, Harrison Smith, Temi Babalola - we’ve got a few headaches.

“We look forward to it. We trained hard on Thursday and will prepare as we do for every game and look forward to a decent turnout with a football league club coming to Woodside.

“We’ll go into it with the attitude of, ‘Let’s win the game and get into the second round’”.

Footie followers and pompous pundits alike talk forever about derby fixtures.

Worthing go by the nickname Rebels for most Woodside Road regulars, they are alternatively labelled the Mackerelmen.

Who do they find themselves “swimming” against in their ongoing bid to net a tasty second-round tie? It’s a team from the opposite end of England called Morecambe, similarly coastal-based with its own fishing heritage, and predictably labelled the Shrimps.

After they dismissed a “seaside-ish” eleven called Plymouth Parkway in the final qualifying round, who would have forecast that Worthing would be cast alongside another team from a seaside location, six hours from Sussex.

Worthing could secure a lucrative second-round clash with say, Huddersfield Town, Bolton Wanderers or Charlton Athletic.

What about a trip to “North Worthing” (or should I say York City?), or a possible third lifetime visit to Cheltenham Town, while three other fishy venues, Barrow, Weston-super-Mare and Blackpool (weekend results depending) are still in the mix?

The tie could produce a record attendance of around 4,000 at the 138-year-old stadium - the current highest is 3,600 when Wimbledon came calling in the FA Cup in 1936-37.

The new south-facing length-of-the-pitch grandstand, constructed over the past three months, will at last be fully open, and advance ticket sales suggest “house full” signs could possibly be displayed by 3pm.

What a double incentive for Worthing over the next four days - an FA Cup victory, followed by three points when they welcome Aveley for a floodlit Tuesday encounter.

Morecambe made a wretched start to their League Two campaign, losing their first five games, and while they have recorded victories in two EFL Trophy matches and belatedly picked up points with four consecutive draws and an away success at north west rivals Barrow, they remain firmly anchored to the bottom of the table.

Former members of the Lancashire Combination and Northern Premier League, they entered the Football League in 2007 and are currently led by Derek Adams, serving his second spell as their manager.

Until dropping into the Football League’s basement last year, Morecambe had never been relegated in their 104-year history.

They left Christie Park in 2010 for their current home, the 6,476 capacity Mazuma Mobile Stadium, but Worthing fans will not get to try out their traditional Lancashire Hotpot just yet, as for the first time this year, the FA have decreed no replays in the competition from the first round proper onwards. Shame on them!