ROSS Thorpe has warned his Tividale players not to show complacency against Hanley Town when they face the Staffordshire outfit in the FA Cup Preliminary Round at The Beeches tomorrow afternoon (KO 15:00).

Dale recorded their first victory in the EVO-STIK Northern Premier League this campaign on Tuesday night with a 4-3 triumph over Rugby Town but the former Alvechurch boss insists Hanley will prove tough opposition.

“They have some good players, and we have to be at our best to beat them,” said the 34-year-old.

“We need to remain focused and treat Hanley with the respect they deserve to come through this tie.”

Thorpe refused to be drawn on whether striker Chris Sterling will start against Hanley but saluted the two-goal substitute for his cameo appearance in the victory over Rugby on Tuesday.

“Chris was terrific when he came on Tuesday and took his goals well.

“It was a shame he was unavailable for Newcastle and Spalding, but he’s back now and he did very, very well.

“Will he start tomorrow? Let’s wait and see. Me and Phil will sit down and discuss our options because at this moment in time we have an extremely important league game at Market Drayton on Monday to think about.”