SHOLING stalwart Barry Mason insists the Boatmen will not take Lymington Town lightly in tonight’s Hamphire FA Senior Cup quarter-final at Southampton Road.

After pulling off an FA Vase/Sydenhams Premier double last season, Sholing are now plying their trade a league above Lymington in the Southern One South & West. But it’s been a tricky transitional season for Dave Diaper’s men who are treading water in 17th and still have work to do to achieve mid-table respectability.

The Boatmen have shown decent cup form, however, progressing well in the Hampshire Senior and Russell Cotes cups and eventually bowing out of the Red Insure Cup at Poole Town.

“We’re saying we’ve had a bad season because we’ve got high standards, but we’re in two quarter-finals,” said Mason. “If we can reach the final of at least one of them, it will cap off the season nicely before the hard work starts again in the summer.”

Lymington have been going well of late in the Sydenhams Premier, but John Pyatt’s seventh-placed side met their match on Saturday, beaten 4-0 at Winchester City.

Sholing boss Dave Diaper, meanwhile, has lodged notice of approach for four players as he looks to strengthen his squad – Ian Oliver (Wimborne Town), Michael Dixon (Andover Town), Oakley Hanger (Dorchester Town) and Jamie Barron (Folland Sports).