BRIDPORT boss Adam Fricker insists the Bees will take their Les Phillips Cup second round tie with Chard Town on Saturday (3pm) “very seriously”.

Fricker’s men have a fixture pile-up through a series of postponed home matches but the Bees have enjoyed excellent cup form this season having reached the FA Cup third qualifying round, going down 2-1 to National League South high-fliers St Albans.

Fricker told the Bridport News he expects “all the pressure” to be on Bridport, with Chard Town plying their trade one division below the Bees in Toolstation Western League Division One.

He said: “The Les Phillips Cup is a cup that we feel that we have got half a chance in. For us, we’re not going to win the league. The cup is something that we’re going to take very seriously.

“It will be a tough game going down to Chard. All the pressure will be on us. We want to progress in that competition.

“We had a great run in the FA Cup and we have progressed in the Les Phillips Cup and knocked out Willand, which was no easy feat.

“It’s definitely something that we’re pleased about, we’re happy where we are at both in league and cup form.”

With Fricker keen to advance to the quarter-finals, the Bees’ manager will be playing his strongest side and is unfazed by adding more fixtures to his side’s already hectic schedule.

He said: “We’ll be playing our strongest possible side that’s available.

“With regards to the Dorset Senior Cup that was a competition where we

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did look to rest a few players because of the amount of games we were building up.

“We want to do well in the (Les Phillips) cup and it’s certainly one we’ll be going all out for.

“The more games we have to play, the more successful we’ve been. From our point of view if we have got a fixture congestion it means we have done well in the cup so I’d take that all day long.”

Braeden Symes is serving a three-match suspension after his red card against Street, while Leigh Bailey has picked up 10 yellow cards and will be banned for two matches.