Non-league's greatest giant-killers eye another scalp

"I honestly believe that we were the best non-league team ever. Look at that history - it should give the players the confidence that anything is possible."

With more than 500 appearances for Altrincham during its golden era of the '70s and '80s, Graham Heathcote knows all about the club's remarkable relationship with the FA Cup, and the giant-killing exploits that forged its identity.

One of the club's most legendary figures, he can also lay claim to being part of the greatest family in the competition's long history of shocks. And he believes that heritage can inspire the current team to pull off another upset against League One Notts County, despite being separated by two divisions.

Over the years, Altrincham - currently seventh in the National League - have defeated 17 Football League opponents in the competition, more than any other club that has spent its entire existence in non-league football.

During a 14-year playing career at the club, Heathcote secured a crucial part of that history. A 100-goal midfielder in an Altrincham team that despite being part-time, managed to reach the FA Cup's third round in four consecutive seasons between 1978 and 1982.

'We had this determination'

"It was an unbelievable achievement because in those days you didn't get weakened sides in the competition like you do now with the bigger clubs," Heathcote told BBC Sport.

Now in his 70s, and still living in Altrincham, he added: "During that period, we actually had a better FA Cup record than any side in the old third and fourth divisions."

Heathcote was at the heart of some of the club's most memorable achievements, twice helping the fifth-tier side to defy the odds with third-round draws against first division opponents; Everton at Goodison Park in 1975, and then a star-studded Spurs at White Hart Lane in 1979.

An office worker at Salford docks at the time, Heathcote even scored a penalty in front of the Kop at Anfield against Liverpool in the third round in 1981. This was an era in which Altrincham also won the FA Trophy twice. So what was their secret in cups?

"We had this determination, and we became feared at that time," he says. "You reach your level in football, but on a one-off occasion you'd be astonished at where you can raise your game to. You can't do it every week, but it's just a case of getting the mindset right on the day."

The club may also have been fuelled by a sense of injustice. Because despite twice winning what was then the Alliance Premier League, Altrincham were victims of a ballot system that cruelly denied them progression to the Football League - by just a single vote in 1980 - before automatic promotion was introduced a few years later.

'We have a real opportunity'

Heathcote had left by the time Altrincham pulled off their greatest cup exploit - knocking out first division Birmingham City at St Andrews in 1986 in what remains one of the competition's biggest shocks. They became only the second of four non-league teams to beat top-flight opposition away from home.

Forty years on from that famous night, current manager Neil Gibson is all too aware of the tradition that he now hopes to continue in front of a live BBC TV audience, and a bumper Moss Lane crowd.

Having joined last year to help the club avoid relegation, the Welshman has overseen an impressive start to the current National League campaign, with Altrincham looking like play-off contenders. The dream of a first ever promotion to the EFL is the priority. But Gibson is desperate to build on the recent progress against Notts County.

"It would mean a lot. It's the spirit and essence of this club," he says. "We have a real opportunity. They are a very good team, but it's a game where we feel that we can go and etch our own memories. All the fans remember those cup moments from the past and we want to try and replicate that."

Situated just a few miles from Old Trafford, and in an area of Greater Manchester dominated by fans of United and City, Altrincham has to work hard to maintain its supporter base. But this is a rare moment in the national spotlight for a community club that only turned professional four years ago.

"A lot of our players are good enough to play at a higher level, and it's a chance to showcase themselves and test ourselves against a club that three years ago were in the same league as us," says Gibson, whose squad includes five players that have previously appeared for Notts County.