Hippolyte's weekend soured by Maidenhead United's defeat to Havant & Waterlooville

Match of the Day wasn’t quite the same for manager Johnson Hippolyte on Saturday night after the Magpies defeat to Havant & Waterlooville.

The disappointed manager said nothing feels quite as good when United lose, as they did in the 3-1 reverse at York Road.

Which makes Hippolyte even more determined to make tomorrow's home tie in the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup against Slough Town the springboard for United’s season.

“When you lose a game like we did on Saturday my whole week is ruined until the next game,” said the manager.

“Match of the Day isn’t quite the same, when you go out for dinner it’s not the same, the brownie doesn’t taste quite so good.

“All week you don’t have a spring in your step. It really hurts, and it’s the same for the chairman and the players and the supporters, and it should hurt.”

He wants the players to rediscover that winning feeling, at the expense of Neil Baker and Jon Underwood’s talented Rebels side.

There were some positives from Saturday’s game with the return of winger Harry Pritchard, who got 45 minutes under his belt following an ankle injury. While Mark Nisbet and Matt Ruby are also expected to declare themselves fit for the match.

“I want to get to the final,” said Hippolyte, who dismissed the question of whether the Berks & Bucks Cup is a priority for the Magpies this season.

“We’ve been knocked out in the semis for the past two years.

“I reassure everyone I’ll be playing the strongest side I can on Saturday. We want to get to the final, and we also want to kick start our season and start winning games again.”

But he is not expecting to make smooth progress to the next round against one of the game’s ‘sleeping giants’

“They are a sleeping giant,” he said.

“They have a big fan base and good players who are going to be up for this game.

“This is a little cup final for them against a side two leagues above them and they will raise their games for sure.

“We have got to make sure we’re focused and I want to use the game as a springboard for our season. I want us to use it to get that confidence back and get that winning feeling back.”