TRIUMPHANT Altrincham chiefs Bernard Taylor and Graham Heathcote will have to exercise patience as they wait for a slice of the cash from the Robins’ glorious FA Cup run.

Alty’s 4-1 midweek replay victory at Lancaster, secured with the help of a Lee Poland hat-trick, took their share of the Cup’s prize-fund to £57,500 with a further £30,000 at stake against Darlington next Saturday.

That’s in addition, of course, to the mouth-watering prospect for the winners of being paired with a Premiership giant when the likes of Manchester United and holders Liverpool enter the competition.

And with Altrincham learning within 24 hours of beating Lancaster that extended highlights of the Darlington clash are to be shown on BBC’s ‘Match of the Day’, that will net them another £40,000 in TV money.

It’s little surprise Taylor and Heathcote want at least a small portion of all that lovely lolly to devote to squad-strengthening as they attempt to keep track of runaway UniBond premier leaders Burton, now 15 points clear of third-placed Alty.

Settle debts

But, while ever mindful of this need, chairman Mark Harris stressed that, first and foremost, Altrincham would use the Cup cash to wipe out debts which only months ago threatened to submerge them.

Harris said: ‘‘Our first priority is to completely settle our liabilities and then we’ll start thinking about pumping greater resources into the team.

‘‘The management team are fully aware of our position and we thank them for the patience they have shown and are continuing to show.

‘‘They have made us aware, though, of players they want to bring in and the board will be doing their utmost to provide them with the necessary finance.’’

One target Alty are now resigned to missing out on is Hyde’s goal ace Simon Yeo, who’s set to join Southport in a deal which would take former Stalybridge favourite Tony Sullivan to Ewen Fields on a three-month loan.

The transfer also involves Southport’s Ben Obong, who’s already on loan at Hyde, joining them permanently along with his Haig Avenue clubmate, Kevin Leadbetter.

Altrincham, meanwhile, have agreed to the BBC’s request, supported by the police, to bring the kick-off against Darlington forward to 1pm.

This will avoid the tie clashing directly with Manchester United’s home game with West Ham.

As a gesture to fans, Alty chiefs have decided against raising admission prices.

Only the seated areas will be all- ticket. Standing supporters can pay at the turnstiles, which will be open from 11am. Tickets go on sale on Monday.

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