Thame United boss Mark West says the pressure is all on Oxford City when they host the Evo-Stik Southern League club at the ASM Stadium in the FA Cup second qualifying round on Saturday.

But West admits his Uhlsport Hellenic League side, who could boost their Cup earnings to £9,750 with a shock win, need a repeat of the show which saw them knock Brackley out 2-0 in the last round.

However, they be without Alex Stewart (injured), Matt Willett (broken leg), Luke Ricketts (hamstring) and Dan West (suspended), while Nik Rhodes was injured in Monday’s 1-1 draw with Binfield.

“They (City) are massive fav-ourites and if I was in Mike Ford’s shoes, I would be delighted with the draw,” said West.

“It’s probably a worse game for them than it is for us because we have nothing to lose, whereas they are expected to beat us.

“So if we can get something from the game, I will be very happy.”

Back in 2004, West was player-manager when Thame dumped out Conference side Weymouth at the third qualifying round stage 2-1, but he added: “We had a really good side then and we’re not really in the same position now.

“We could have six players out on Saturday, so it’s going to be even tougher.

“We didn’t play very well against Hanwell (they lost 5-2 in the FA Vase on Saturday), but if we play as well as we did against Binfield, then you never know.”

City needed a replay to get past Didcot in the last round, and former Thame defender Ford said: “We are very much aware of Thame because they have beaten a side from our league with three times the budget that we have.

“They have nothing to lose, but we have everything to lose.

“They are the underdogs, so they can play with freedom. It’s very much a mental battle for us.

“We have had them watched and know Westy has a decent side, so we can’t under-estimate them.

“They are going to be massively up for it, but we will be fit, organised and up for it as well.”

Ford knows about Cup shocks, having been in the Oxford United side that lost 2-0 at Marlow in 1994.

“We learned from that and when we played Dorchester (the U’s won 9-1) the next year we had to be on it. We approached it fantastically well because we were mentally prepared,” he added.

“Thame beating Brackley is no mean feat and it shows we have to be focused.”

City’s on-loan Swindon midfielder Matt Clark could start, but miss Lee Steele (hamstring) and Michael Lyon (holiday).

l TOMORROW’S game will be filmed by the FA as part of their Cup coverage after a vote by fans.