Ben Strevens relishes FA Cup quest with Whitehawk

Or put it another way. The Whitehawk player and assistant boss loves the ups and can appreciate the drama of the downs once time has allowed the wounds to heal.

Now the man brought in as boss Richard Hill’s right-hand man on the pitch hopes to help Hawks on another Cup run as part of a theme of steady recovery and improvement.

Hawks host Southern League outfit Merthyr in the third qualifying round tomorrow still on a generally upwards curve, despite league defeat at Hemel Hempstead on Tuesday.

A somewhat jaded 2-0 reverse there was understandable. Hill has brought in players who had been without clubs and, in some cases, pre-season programmes and asked them to suddenly play two games per week.

But the buzz should be back when the FA Cup comes around, not least for the former Eastleigh players who pushed Championship strugglers Bolton so hard last season.

Strevens said: “I know Whitehawk have done well in the Cup and we were quite successful at Eastleigh.

“We beat Crewe, which was the first time we had beaten a Football League club. We had a good win away to a lower league team, Stourbridge, which was really tough, and we were two minutes away from beating Bolton at home.

Eastleigh applaud their fans after their narrow defeat at Bolton

“I know they were struggling and they had a lot of stuff going on off the pitch but they were three divisions above us. We were so close to beating them and we only lost 3-2 up there in the replay.

“It brought the money in and a lot of publicity for the club.”

The Cup has not always been a bundle of laughs – although he can smile about some less glorious chapters now.

Such as the last of his 16 appearances for Crawley, in a home defeat to Lewes in the fourth qualifying round ten years ago.

He recalled: “We played Lewes and lost 3-2 and I fractured my cheekbone. I never actually played for Crawley again because Dagenham and Redbridge came in for me.

“I had another bad one when I was at Wycombe and we lost to Fleetwood from the Conference.

“That was the year they won the Conference and they had Jamie Vardy up front. They beat us 2-0 and they were down to ten men. It was a bit of a downer.

Ben Strevens makes a painful FA Cup exit at Crawley

“It’s brilliant, the FA Cup. It throws up all sorts of upsets and that’s why we are not taking anything for granted. Merthyr will be a good side and they will be right up for it.”

Hill felt his side went too direct at Hemel Hempstead and will call for a response. He also highlighted the physical demands suddenly being put on most of his players.

Strevens said: “I did a pre-season in terms of running but I didn’t really play much football. Same with Reidy (Paul Reid) at the back, Dan Harding, so maybe that caught up with us.

“I’m still finding my feet. These are like pre-season games for me and the others probably feel the same.”

Strevens was part of the Eastleigh side Hill took to the Conference south title and expects an upturn at the Enclosed Ground.

He said: “Richard knows good players and he knows the players you need to do well in this league.

“No doubt about it, he will bring in players he needs. He has to rebuild again and he has started already.”