WHEN Accrington Stanley lifted the UniBond Premier Division Trophy last season, Eric Whalley took a break from the norm and treated himself to a sip of champagne.
But the Reds' chairman is adamant that, while he would love nothing more than to beat Bournemouth tomorrow, not even a place in the FA Cup third round would make him break from his teetotal lifestyle.
"I won't have a drop," he insists.
At least, though, the pressure of matchdays will be off him with Stanley on their travels, so he can relax and enjoy the game.
Or can he?
"It's going to be a long way to Bournemouth so I might change my mind and wish we were playing at home!" he said.
"It's a long way for the players to travel but it takes a lot more for people to come along and watch the game.
"We should have a decent following though because we've sold over 400 tickets and Bournemouth have sold over 100 for the Accrington end, so I've no doubt that will be a good boost for the players to see so many people there."
And Whalley's hoping such a strong backing will inspire Stanley to their second FA Cup scalp of the tournament.
"I don't really have a vibe about how the game will go, but if Bournemouth underestimate us then we might give them a shock," he said.
"The ideal situation would be to win there and get a Premier League side. But it would be a big thing to bring Bournemouth back to Accrington for a replay too and hopefully get the television cameras down again for that."
He added: "The club is on a high at the moment - it's buzzing.
"All the staff are going down to Bournemouth as well as the players so it will be a really big occasion for the club this weekend."
Stanley, who won £12,500 for getting through their first round match with Third Division Huddersfield, could get around £20,000 from their share of the gate receipts.
But a big chunk of that has already been accounted for with the team, management and staff spending tonight and tomorrow night at a hotel in Poole.
Whalley hopes, however, it's going to be money well spent.
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