By Pete Oliver

We have had some hard draws but we have got a good, young side together and we will be up for it Kendal manager Lee Ashcroft

With the greatest respect to Grimsby Town, the League Two strugglers would not be many people's idea of a great FA Cup draw.

But that is not the case for Kendal Town manager Lee Ashcroft, who is hoping he can take the Lake District club into the first-round proper for the first time in 50 years and set up a date with the Mariners.

"All the lads are talking about is Leeds United," Ashcroft told BBC Sport.

"If we did get them it could set us up for the next three years, I might be able to bring one or two better players in and it would be fantastic for the lads.

"But I would like to get Grimsby. I played there and I still speak to their manager Alan Buckley. That would be the dream tie for me."

Kendal and Grimsby have some previous FA Cup history. Their 1956 meeting brought a record crowd of 5,000 to Kendal, who, under their then name of Netherfield AFC, were beaten 5-1.

As a leading Lancashire Combination club, successful FA Cup runs were not unusual but since the 1950s the first round has proved elusive.

Having been founder members of the Northern (Unibond) League in 1968, financial constraints forced the club, which became Netherfield Kendal in 1998 and Kendal Town two years later, to drop into the North West Counties League in 1982.

They have since climbed their way back to UniBond League Premier Division level but will still be underdogs when they take on famous FA Cup fighters Altrincham at their Lakeland Radio Stadium on Saturday in pursuit of a place alongside the League One and Two clubs in the tea-time draw.

There are some players in my team who could play in the Football League Lee Ashcroft

"It would be amazing. We have not been there for a long time and now we are one match away," said Ashcroft.

"The chairman is different class and all the people at the club are fantastic so it would be great for them.

"But first we have to get past Altrincham. They have not had the best of seasons and are at the lower end of their league.

"But they are playing two leagues higher than us so they should be better than us.

"We will respect them but I think we will give them a game.

"The lads have done really well to get this far. We have had some hard draws but we have got a good, young side together and we will be up for it."

Kendal are yet to concede a goal in this season's competition in beating Worksop Town, Liversedge and Woodley Sports.

Goalkeeper David Newnes has played a major part in that feat since signing from Barrow, while Ashcroft rates left-back Paul Byrne, who started out at Port Vale, as the best in their league.

Peter Wright, whose career began at Newcastle United, is a prolific striker, while ex-Southport midfielder Lee Mulvaney is another potential threat to an Altrincham side that is struggling near the foot of the Blue Square Premier.

And Ashcroft believes he has players, who have lost only two of their last 11 games, capable of bridging the gap and playing at a higher level.

"There is not a lot of difference. People need a bit of luck to play in the higher divisions and there are some players in my team who could play in the Football League," he added.

And Ashcroft should know after a playing career that also included spells as a striker with Preston, twice, Wigan and West Bromwich Albion and which led to him earning an England under-21 cap.

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With the Baggies he scored in a fifth-round FA Cup tie against Coventry City but now selects himself only occasionally for a place on the substitutes' bench, while devoting his energies to a managerial career.

"I have worked with some great managers. David Moyes is just one name that comes to mind. It was something I wanted to get into and I have loved every minute of it," he said.

After joining Kendal as a player in 2004, Preston-based Ashcroft was given the manager's job last December and kept Town in the UniBond League top flight last season.

Combining that with his job as a football coach at Myerscough College, the 35-year-old wants to lift up Town to Blue Square North level.

Alongside that target, the club is also progressing off the pitch. A link-up with Kendal College is in the pipeline, with a view to developing a national diploma footballing course that will be designed to keep the best local talent in the town.

Having also adopted a local special needs school, Kendal wants to become an active community club and Saturday's shot at Cup glory gives them the perfect platform.

"We are hoping to get about 1,000 there. The Cumbrians are good, vocal people and it should be a great day," enthused Ashcroft.