Robinson 'well aware' of value of Trophy win

STEPHEN ROBINSON . . . cash incentive for tonight's Checkatrade Trophy tie

HARD cash is at stake tonight in a game Athletic desperately want to win in order to boost squad options for next month.

Defeat Walsall in the last 32 of the Checkatrade Trophy (7.45pm kick-off) and Stephen Robinson's side pocket the club £20,000 - music to the ears of chairman Simon Corney, with the club currently under a transfer embargo for unpaid bills to rivals.

Entering the game on the back of a backs-to-the-wall effort at Oxford, Robinson stressed he knows full well the importance of the cash prize that comes with victory in the widely derided competition.

"The chairman has made me well aware. Every bit of money coming into the club counts and contributes to what I can do," said Robinson, whose side will go to Mansfield in the next round if they progress at the Banks's Stadium.

"I have said it 100 times before that Simon Corney has backed me with what he has got. There isn't a deep pocket you can keep dipping your hand in to - we don't have it and Simon pushes what he can do to the limit.

"Every win you have and movement in cup competition adds to the pot. And at this moment in time, I will only be able to bring in what I can get out, like for like."

And despite the embargo, Robinson - who spent yesterday in London, scouting a potential target for next month - said he is well under way with the ground work in terms of discussions with potential targets.

"We told people some home truths after Lincoln and I will make changes in January, when we are given that opportunity," he added. "To whatever level of money we can do, we will make changes and have already been speaking to players."

Tonight's game is a fifth away fixture in succession, a sequence that includes the postponement of the scheduled home match against Peterborough which will now be played on Tuesday, January 24.

Robinson is not unduly concerned by all of that travelling, though, other than the impact it has on cash-flow.

Southend's visit on Saturday is the last home game of 2016 and the first at SportsDirect.com Park for more than a month.

"We set up positively at home," Robinson said. "But it seems they perform better away. Whether there isn't as much pressure, I am not sure.

"But it is just a game of football and we don't change our preparation. We are meticulous on the opposition and then we concentrate on ourselves."