BRAINTREE Town boss Hakan Hayrettin is confident that the FA Trophy won’t be a distraction for the Iron’s principle goal this season.

Hayrettin knows he and his team’s priority must be safeguarding their Vanarama National League status this year and he is more aware than most of what a good cup run can do for a club.

As a player, Hayrettin was an integral part of Wycombe Wanderers’ Conference and FA Trophy double success under manager Martin O’Neill in 1993.

So he was pleased to see his team move into the last 16 of the Trophy with a 5-2 win at East Thurrock United on Saturday to set up a third-round home date against Dulwich Hamlet on February 4.

And he feels it is a success that just keeps the forward momentum that he and his players have secured over the last two months.

Hayrettin said: “We will take it one game at a time but we just need to keep winning games of football whoever we play.

“For us, it’s about building momentum.

“We are not fourth in the current (league) form chart by fluke.

“We are there because we deserve to be there and that’s an achievement for us.

“I keep reminding the players that they have earned the right to be there, but that doesn’t mean anything and we still have a lot of games to play.

“The Trophy isn’t a distraction.

“It’s something that they can build their confidence on and I believe in that.

“Why can’t they dream of getting to Wembley? Why not?

“When I was at Wycombe Wanderers and we did the double, it wasn’t a distraction there.

"We won the league and we won the Trophy - that says it all.”