Hastings United manager Chris Agutter relaxed ahead of clash with Worthing

Hastings United celebrate in their preliminary round tie with Broadbridge Heath. Picture by Scott White.

United face Worthing after beating Broadbridge Heath 2-1 in the preliminary round, but manager Chris Agutter admits that the FA Cup is 'not the priority.'

He said: "If I'm being honest, I know it might sound a bit negative, but I'm not that bothered about the FA Cup. I know the club benefit financially from it and from that perspective it's important, but what's going to define our season will be the league. It's not the priority."

Worthing currently ply their trade in the BetVictor Premier Division, and Agutter knows that hosting the higher level opponents could make for interesting viewing for the fans, but also lifts some of the pressure from his side.

He said: "It should be a decent football match for the neutral. Adam Hinshelwood believes the game should be played a certain way, similar to myself, so it should be a good, open, attacking game of football."

He continued: "It's a bit of a free one for us. We're not going to win the FA Cup, the FA Cup isn't a priority for us and we're up against a higher level opposition, so it's certainly not going to define our season. We can go into it with a little bit of pressure off."

Hastings will be looking to maintain their perfect home record at the start of this season, having so far won three from three at the Pilot Field.