Club should come first for St Albans City players ahead of FA Cup game on BBC says Ian Allinson

Ian Allinson has warned his players that they should ignore the bright lights of television and focus on their game ahead of St Albans City's FA Cup first round clash with Forest Green Rovers.

The match will be shown live on BBC2 on Sunday evening and while it will bring the eyes of the nation onto the club and the players, the boss says that the spotlight should be on the club ahead of any personal benefits or to put themselves in the shop window.

"We have to be careful," said the former Arsenal, Luton Town and Colchester United striker. "We were on BT Sport last year for the [fourth qualifying round] game with Bishop’s Stortford and I felt a couple of players used it as a bit of a showcase game and lost their focus. 

"We’ve got to make sure on Sunday that people are focused first and foremost on doing their job for the club firstly and then secondly for themselves. 

"If they use it as a showcase then some of the good things they do on a weekly basis won’t be apparent and they’ll start making mistakes. 

"They have to play to the levels they play week in and week out and if they do that, they’ll showcase themselves anyway. 

"They have earned the right to put themselves on TV and if they do put themselves out there and clubs up and down the country think they are good players, and the price is right, then we’ll talk about it as a club. 

"We’ll never stop anybody from progressing and we’ve always been the same."