Chris Kinnear says the pride of Dover fans will prove a big motivation as his Whites squad prepare to battle Oxford City for a place in the FA Cup first round.

With the prospect of £12,500 for the winners of Saturday’s tie and a potential bumper tie against a Football League big-gun like Wolves, Sheffield United or even Gillingham, Kinnear admitted: “It’s an important game, yes of course the cash is good for the club, but getting through would be good for the supporters too and their pride in the club.

“That’s what I’ll be saying to the players before the game, not talking about the prospect of Wolves or Gillingham or anyone else – though Wolves would be interesting as I spent five years scouting for them.”

Oxford are joint-bottom of Skrill North with one win from their 11 games but Kinnear warned: “Make no mistake, they are a decent side. We have had them watched and they have beaten a couple of good teams from our division already.

“They have some good, experienced players and they will want to keep going in this competition just as much as we do.”

Dover warmed up for Saturday’s fourth qualifying round clash with City at Crabble with a convincing 4-0 victory at Eastbourne Borough in Skrill South on Tuesday night.

It was a sixth win in seven games for Kinnear’s side and a fourth straight league clean-sheet, but it was the explosion of goals which provided the Whites boss with the most satisfaction.

He said: “It’s been coming, so I haven’t been too worried. What it does though is it gets people to start believing a bit more that they can score and gets the confidence up.”