Wealdstone manager Gordon Bartlett believes this weekend’s FA Cup second qualifying round tie at home to Concord Rangers will be a welcome respite from their league struggles as they bid to turn their season around.

The Stones remain bottom of the Conference South after their 3-0 home defeat to St Albans City last weekend but Bartlett hopes a break from the league can take the pressure of his side and help them find their form.

Bartlett said: “The cup is aways different and it will hopefully give us a bit of respite from the league. “It will give the players a chance to go into the match with a totally fresh outlook.

“We need to nip our bad run in the bud now and hopefully it will provide a spark in our season.”

Wealdstone recently played Concord Rangers and suffered a 4-2 away defeat. Bartlett is very familiar with their opponents and knows their strengths heading into the tie.

He said: “They are a hard working side and we have pitted our wits against them many times over the years.

“They have a siege mentality over there and work really hard as a unit. They’re a very strong and determined side and we know that we’re going to have to match that to have a chance of overcoming them.”

The Stones boss added: “We want to progress but more importantly we want to start winning matches regularly. There is so much frustration around the club but we have to turn it around.”

Their latest loss came on Saturday at Grosvenor Vale. Sean Cronin gave John Frendo too much space and the prolific striker fired home from a tight angle.

Lee Clarke doubled St Albans’ lead before Frendo wrapped up the points with penalty.

Bartlett said: “We won last Tuesday and were looking to build on it but then we gave away a silly goal on Saturday.

“For an hour we gave as good we got but the goal knocked the stuffing out of everybody. It was a real body blow but we need to have a better reaction.

“The players need to roll their sleeves up and work hard. We are talking about good players making mistakes.”

But the manager has praised the backing of the fans as they bid to get out of trouble.

He said: “There has been an awful lot of support and backing for the team and I’m confident it will be the same on Saturday.

“But the fact is we are where we are for a reason. I will take the brunt of the criticism but collectively we need to do better. We all need to improve but we will get through this together.”