St Albans City have put out a call to their fans ahead of a huge game in the FA Cup – sing loud and be our 12th man.

Joint-manager, Jimmy Gray, has called the Saints’ support “inspirational” and believes that with the help of the people of the City, they can beat Weston-super-Mare and advance to the first round proper.

Victory for the club could secure a tie against the likes of former winners Wigan Athletic, Portsmouth or Coventry City, as well as a huge financial windfall.

Gray said: “When we get the fans behind us singing, it can be a 12th man for us.

“So we need them to come down and support the boys. I know it’s tough to take and we haven’t give them a lot to cheer for recently but we’re in this together.”

He referenced the support they had received at Maidstone last weekend, when a small band of travelling supporters had mixed with a 2,103 crowd, as a case-in-point.

He added: “They give us a little gee-up as they walked behind the dugout and then got in the mix with hundreds of home supporters and I could hear them in both halves.

“We love it when they do that, it does inspire us and hopefully we can get a big crowd next week.

“The goals will come and things will turn. We just need to get on a run and the fans are a massive part of that.”

The prospect of a place in the first round is one that excites the City boss.

He said: “The financial implications are massive; it means we could strengthen even further.

“And you never know. You could be at Sheff Utd live on television, which would be brilliant for me. But it’s a real possibility, anything could happen, and that’s why we need to focus this week and try and get it right.”

Weston are one place below Saints in the league but the management duo is taking nothing for granted.

Gray’s fellow manager, Graham Golds, skipped the Maidstone trip to watch their cup opponents lose 2-0 away at Maidenhead.

Gray went on: “They are struggling a little bit in the league like we are but there are no bad teams in our league.

“It’s going to be massive for the town. Last time we got to the first round there was three-and-a-half thousand in there against Mansfield so if that could happen again it would be absolutely superb.”

Kick-off at Clarence Park is 3pm. All supporters should pay on the door.