FA Trophy: Needham Market run will help young players, says Kevin Horlock

Needham Market manager Kevin HorlockRex Features

Kevin Horlock was in the Manchester City team that won the 2001-02 First Division title

Manager Kevin Horlock believes Needham Market can take a lot of pride from their run to the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy.

Their hopes of further progress were ended by a 3-0 home loss to National League leaders Stockport County.

But they had the consolation of a crowd of 1,526 - the second highest in the Southern League club's history.

"These are days you want to be involved in. Hopefully we can have more of them," Horlock told BBC Radio Suffolk.

The former Swindon, Manchester City, Ipswich and Northern Ireland midfielder has been in charge of the Marketmen for the past two years.

And they knocked out two other National League clubs - Wealdstone, winning 2-1 in the third round, and Yeovil Town, who they beat 8-7 on penalties following a goalless fourth-round draw - on their way to the last eight.

"It has been some journey. We beat some really big teams but in Stockport County we came up against a team that were better than us individually and collectively," 49-year-old Horlock said.

"I'm pleased in terms of the young lads witnessing that - I'm sure some of them will go on and play at that level and [know] that's what it looks like."

Needham Market are 13th in the Southern League Premier Central Division, two levels below Stockport in the non-league pyramid.

"They are some outfit. They've got a really good squad, a big squad and a really good manager [Dave Challinor]. They came here and showed why they are top of the National League," said Horlock.

"It was a lesson at times - a tough one to take because I was just desperate for the lads to perform as well as they have done [in previous games], but sometimes you've just got to hold your hands up and give them credit.

"They didn't give us the opportunity to play. They were camped in our half first half, the wind was against us and at half-time the game was done really."

He added: "We'd have needed them to have an off day, we'd have needed a bit of luck, we needed to be at our best and none of those things happened, unfortunately."

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