MANAGER Denny Ingram has insisted Pickering Town will not take their FA Cup Preliminary Round fixture against Bridlington Town lightly.

Ingram also admitted that, despite being "up against it", the 4-1 Northern Premier League north/west division opening-day defeat at Workington exhibited naivety from a patched-up side.

Pickering made the 290-mile round trip to Cumbria missing the experience of the suspended Ryan Blott, Niall Tilsley and Aaron Bretell, as well as unavailable players in Danny Earl and Joel Dixon.

Earl, Dixon and Tilsley were in line to return for last night's visit of Ramsbottom United, and Blott will be available for Brid on Saturday.

And Saturday's home game (3pm) against North Yorkshire rivals Bridlington - who play in the Northern Counties East League premier division - it is an occasion Ingram is relishing.

"For small clubs like us, the money you can bring with a decent cup run is vital, so we're not taking it lightly whatsoever," he said.

"We're not going to win (the Cup) but you want to get as far as you can and hopefully challenge yourself against higher opposition.

"We met in pre-season and it didn't go to plan but that has given us a chance to see what they're about.

"We'll go fully expecting a good result.

"The FA Cup is a special competition. There's not a great deal of people who get to play in it and this is literally a one-off game.

"I've got the utmost respect for Brett and the job he's done.

"It will be a tough game between local rivals, and it's much-needed money for a club like Pickering Town."

At the weekend, David Symington opened the scoring for the hosts with a superb rising strike into the roof of the net from outside the area.

Dan Davison gave Pickering almost immediate hope from the restart, jinking his way into the box after a terrible clearance from Workington keeper Jim Atkinson and sliding coolly in.

But three goals in 26 second-half minutes sealed the Pikes' fate.

Bradley Hubbold sent a low effort in from 25 yards in the 50th minute. Symington added a free kick to his personal tally and Ceiran Casson bundled in a fourth.

"To come away with a 4-1 defeat leaves a bitter taste in your mouth," Ingram admitted.

"For large parts of the game we competed well but we were naive at times which cost us.

"Probably about a 20-minute spell they put us under a little bit of pressure and we weren't able to see it out.

"But all circumstances put into the mix - a long journey, away from home against one of the league favourites, with four potential starters missing - we were up against it.

"We had some very good performances within the side, which hopefully we'll carry on into the next few games.

"Matty Turnbull played very, very well and put his body on the line.

"They didn't really pose any problems in the box. It was more from 20, 25 yards, and we were very naive, we allowed the shot from distance.

"It was disappointing going into such a big game - the first of the season - and not to get off on the right foot, but that's the business we're in and there's not a great deal you can do about it. You can't make excuses."