Cheltenham Town’s Alfie May hopes to “get the tough clubs” in the FA cup following their impressive performance against Premier League giants Manchester City.
The Robins faced Premier League champions Man City in the fourth round of the 20/21 FA cup with striker May scoring the opening goal, providing fans with hope.
May believed the FA cup “is important to the fans and club itself, it’s a big money competition and you want to get the tough clubs.”
His side will face League One’s Gillingham in the first round, who will be looking for revenge after the Robins eliminated them from the League cup earlier this season.
The ex-Doncaster Rovers striker will be looking to secure his name on the team sheet despite facing competition from his striking teammates.
He said: “it’s important to have competition, tonight’s performance [Cheltenham vs Chelsea U21] I knew I needed to play well to get in the gaffer’s head [Michael Duff].
“All five of us are ready to get the shirt and its good, we have competition all over the pitch.”
Despite his lack of inclusion in the starting 11, May is always ready and prepared to give his best when entering the field and hinted at the importance of energy.
“It’s important to keep a level head when things don’t go your way when you want them to, it’s all mental.
“You have to stay strong, sometimes you want to give up but as soon as you do that you lose the lead.”
Many great footballers have their pre-match superstitions and the Robins’ striker is no different.
“A bit of mobility and stretching, rub from the physio and I put my left boot and sock on first.”
However, he has hinted at a slightly different and unorthodox ‘superstition’ that is key to him as a footballer.
“I take two paracetamols every game just because it’s a mental thing”
May has become one of the senior players at the club after joining from Doncaster in January 2020 and has now become a leader for the up-and-coming academy.
“As a senior player you try to set examples every day on the pitch and off the pitch.
“Everyone’s a leader, the way you conduct yourself, you should want to lead, everybody should lead.”
Despite their early exit of the competition, May’s side have high aims for their first season back in League One.
“We’ve got an aim, we’ve played big teams in this league, Charlton, Oxford beat them but then you play Wigan and Sunderland who are also big teams and they beat us.
“We know what teams are in this league now, we know where we want to be, so we’ll take it game by game and try to pick up as many points as we can.”
Cheltenham had a successful 20/21 season in League Two after becoming champions, gaining automatic promotion with 82 points.
May’s reds now take on a new challenge in League One but insisted he has “enjoyed it” so far, having scored three goals.
“The pitches are a lot better, League Two was a bit of smash and grab, and try and get as many points as you can.
“In League One you get a lot of footballing teams that enjoy playing football and moving the ball well, so we set up different and press.”
May will be hopeful of making an impact as his side face Sheffield Wednesday at the Jonny-Rocks stadium on Saturday, October 30.
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