WESTBURY United co-boss Neil Kirkpatrick admits prize money earned from Saturday’s 3-0 FA Cup extra preliminary round win against Cribbs will help establish key foundations at the club.

Goals from Dan Kovacs, Steve Hulbert and Jamie Jordan guided Kirkpatrick's troops to the next stage of football’s oldest competition, and consequently ensured Westbury pocketed a cool £2,250.

After earning promotion from Division One of the Toolstation League last season, Kirkpatrick wanted to ensure the winning groove continued for his men – and they have done just that with three wins from their opening trio of competitive fixtures.

And their ‘newbie’ reputation in the Premier Division might be working in their favour, with Kirkpatrick admitting some clubs might be guilty of taking the ability of his troops lightly.

“Other teams might be underestimating us,” said Kirkpatrick.

“We’re still a bit light in defence as a couple of the lads are away on holiday, but we’ve got to stay focussed and continue to do what we’re doing.

“We have nothing to lose. Winning is a good habit and we haven’t got the money that other teams in our division are splashing around.

“We won £2,250 on Saturday, and that has set us up nicely. Prize money in the FA Cup is fantastic and everyone wants in on that.

“Prize money can help set foundations, and a cup run breathes confidence.

“However, our feet remain on the ground and we’re not going to get carried away.

“It’s a long season, there will be ups and there will be downs.”

A low-key start to the game made it tricky for Westbury to establish a foothold as Cribbs lacked energy moving forward.

While the slow tempo wasn’t to Kirkpatrick’s liking, the Westbury boss admitted his men handled the situation well.

He said: “It was a quite a flat, low tempo, game – that made it difficult for us to focus and get going.

“But ultimately it was a well-deserved win and we could’ve scored a couple more goals, but their goalkeeper made some great saves.

“Things will get harder, and we’re still the underdogs in every game. But we’ve got to keep pushing and not stop if we’re going to establish ourselves in the higher division.”