Whitstable Town boss Lee Martin excited by cup draws as Oystermen start FA Cup journey at home to Roffey and travel to AFC Portchester in FA Trophy first qualifying round

Manager Lee Martin’s eyes lit up at Whitstable Town’s early-season cup draws.

Martin’s first match in charge of the newly-promoted Isthmian South East side will be at home to Southern Combination League Roffey in the FA Cup on Saturday, August 8.

Three weeks later, the Oystermen travel to Isthmian South Central AFC Portchester in the FA Trophy first qualifying round.

“We’re delighted,” Martin said. “They’re cup games so an opportunity for us to progress and get financial rewards for the club.

“Ultimately, we want to win games of football. We have got a competitive and big squad.

"It’s an exciting start and I think they’re winnable games.

“My eyes lit up when that draw was made. It’s the home one that we wanted to start.

“Hopefully, we can get a good crowd in, reward them with a good performance and progress into the next round.”

The new-look Oystermen - without Ian Gayle, Tom Hanfrey, Robbie Rees, Perri Iandolo, Charlie Thomson and Kweku Lucan - lost 3-1 at home to National League South side Maidstone United in their opening pre-season friendly last Saturday.

New defender Jeremiah Gyebi cancelled out Stones’ first-half opener, but goals either side of half-time proved the difference.

Martin reflected: “We were going up against a full-time outfit. They’re going to be fitter and a lot quicker with the ball.

“But I thought my players were brilliant in terms of their work-rate and application. We only go after one or two things at this stage of pre-season, whether that’s how we adapt to throw-ins or restarts.

“We’re not looking for perfect performances, that’s pretty much impossible when a lot of the players are only playing 45 minutes.

"We put it into five-minute spells to manage it whereas, if you’re playing for 30