James Gray is pleading with the fans to come back to Clarence Park and support the Saints in Saturday’s FA Trophy clash with Wealdstone.

St Albans’ last two home games, against Farnborough and Havant and Waterlooville have attracted crowds of just 344 and 349 respectively.

A run of poor home performances has been a contributing factor in lower than average attendances but Gray was still disappointed to see so few at Saturday’s win and has appealed for them to come back.

“It was disappointing that the crowd was so low. We need to stick together and the fans are part of that,” he told Saintsnet.

“We must have lost a few with our home form but hopefully they’ll come back because we need them. The fans have to stay with us through thick and thin; we need them as much as they need us.

“To lose so many was disappointing and we want them back. Hopefully they’ll hear we had a good performance and that will bring the crowd back.”

Gordon Bartlett’s Wealdstone pose an intriguing threat in Saturday’s FA Trophy clash. City won their league meeting in September 3-0 but the Stones have bolstered their squad recently and lost just two of their last nine games.

Gray is under no illusion that it will be a “tough” game but he said it is all the more reason for the fans to show up in number and cheer his side into the first round of the competition.

“It’s going to be a tough game and they’ll bring a few so we’ve got to stick together,” he stated.

“We want to be in this competition. The FA Trophy is bigger for us than FA Cup; there is a real chance to get to Wembley. Hopefully we can do a job and get the crowd behind us.”