WEYMOUTH acting CEO Paul Maitland believes there is “no pressure” on the Terras for their FA Cup first round tie with AFC Wimbledon and insisted: “It’s a massive opportunity for us”.

Weymouth have reached the FA Cup main draw for the first time in Maitland’s decade-long association with the club.

This afternoon, they entertain a Dons side placed 58 spots above them in the English football pyramid (3pm).

Ahead of the first-ever meeting between the sides since AFC Wimbledon were formed in 2002, Maitland told the Terras to “go out and play with freedom” as they look to cause a major upset.

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He told Echosport: “It’s a massive opportunity for us. We’re not expected to win, so there’s no pressure on the players.

“The players can go out and play with freedom. The only real pressure is that they go out and give the best account of themselves that they can.

“With a bit of luck, or if we just play well enough, then we can push AFC Wimbledon. Why can’t we be the team that causes the shock?

“There’s always a shock every year. There’s no reason why it can’t be us. League form goes out of the window, in our case thankfully.”

Maitland also touched on the added limelight for Weymouth’s players to make a name for themselves.

He said: “It’s a fantastic opportunity for our players to pit their wits against full-time players. Most of ours have had a taste of that.

“They must want to get back there if they have that ambition. This is a chance to put themselves in the shop window.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for them to create their own unique history, a bit like the Notts Forest saga that we hear about.

“This is the opportunity for these boys to do something similar or even go one better and turn AFC Wimbledon over.

“For the players, they’ve got everything to gain from putting in a good performance. They’ve got nothing to fear, embrace what’s in front of them.

“Just have no regrets, would be my words to them if I was the manager. Enjoy the occasion, because it will fly by.

“But make sure when you come off at the end you have no regrets and you know that you did your best.

“What I do know about Weymouth fans is that if you give them your absolute best, whether you win, lose or draw, they will respect that.

“That’s all we can ask of the players, is that they give us the best they can. If it’s meant to be and everything aligns, why can’t we be that team that turns over the Football League team?”

And Maitland hopes the day will inspire the more casual Weymouth fans to attend league matches for regularly.

He said: “Yes, it is a big day but we still have a business to run and we have to be thinking about next month and the month after.

“You’re running your day-to-day stuff as normal but also with this big added pressure on top.

“It’s a great pressure to have because it potentially helps the club massively.

“Obviously I hope we win, it would be fantastic. I hope that we put a good enough day on, on and off the pitch, that the floating fans think: ‘Actually, I’m going to go again’.

“For me, it’s not just about how much money we can make and can we win the game, it’s also about the bigger picture.

“Can we make sure people have the best experience and that they come again? If we do that, the day could be measured as more of a success than if just we won, or we lost and made money.”

Tickets are still available, priced at £15 for adults, £10 for concessions, £7 for students and £4 for under-16s.

Visit the uptheterras.co.uk for more details.