SHOLING boss Dave Diaper would gladly trade in three league points for victory at Winchester today in the FA Vase first round proper.

But though the Boatmen’s chief would dearly love a headline-hitting run in lower non-League’s premier cup, he insists the Vase did not figure in his thinking when he opted to withdraw Sholing from the Southern League in favour of a return to Wessex football this season.

“The Vase didn’t come into it at all,” he said. “We came down purely for financial reasons. We didn’t have the money to be in the Southern League.

“And when you see Hinckley have gone bust and other teams are treading water, it was the right decision to make - and I stand by that because no extra money has come into the club to make me change my mind.

“If we were still in the Southern League now with what we’ve got in the bank, I’d be pulling my hair out!”

Diaper added: “Coming back down to the Wessex was never about lack of ambition, it was just being practical and saying we haven’t got the money to stay at that level.

“We want to be back in the Southern League, of course we do, but it’s got to be sustainable.”

With today's £900 winnings rising to a jackpot of £25,000 for the eventual Vase victors and £17,000 for the runners-up, Sholing have a strong financial incentive to push for Wembley.

But, for Diaper, it’s not just about the money, it’s about rewarding some of his longer-serving team members - players like Tyronne Bowers, Lee Bright, Kev Brewster and Marc Diaper – for their outstanding loyalty to the club.

“For two or three of our players this could be the last-chance saloon as far as winning a major cup competition is concerned,” he said. “It would be great to be able to look back over our careers – myself included – and say we’ve been to Wembley.

“This is the leading competition we’re left in and we’d love to do well in it.”

Diaper’s big regret is that he won’t have a full-strength squad to take to the Denplan City Ground where, just two weeks ago, Sholing emerged handsome 3-0 winners in the Wessex Premier Division.

With ankle problems still rife in the camp, Bright, Dan Miller, Alex Sawyer and Matt Renouf are all out while Brewster and Ashley Jarvis are doubtful.

Player-coach James Taylor, who managed Winchester last season, had a reserve run-out on Monday after back problems and is described by Diaper as “a work in progress with his fitness.”

“It’s disappointing to go into the game without a full complement of players,” said Diaper. “But no excuses, I trust all our players – including the reserves – to give it their all.”