De Girolamo believes Buxton have every right to believe they can beat Ipswich Town in the FA Cup

The Bucks’ trip to Ipswich Town sees them take on a side flying high in League One and favourites to gain a place in round three.

But with another League One side having already been knocked out by a side that plays lower than Buxton in the pyramid – with Alvechurch winning at Cheltenham Town in round one – De Girolamo says anything is possible.

He said: “Being underdogs can work in your favour, especially in the FA Cup. Look at Alvechurch’s result this season and the fact we went up to York City and won last year.

"Form goes out of the window. Ipswich are going really well and will want promotion to the Championship, whereas we’ve been a bit inconsistent recently and Ipswich will look at it and think it’s an easy game on paper.

"But I’m sure their manager will be telling their players not to take anything for granted, just as we can’t go there expecting to lose.

"Positivity is key. We could go one down early on and still make a great fight of it, so we have to believe in ourselves and make it hard for them.”

De Girolamo says that the focus has had to remain firmly on league matters since the draw for round two was made, despite the Ipswich tie being a potential distraction.

Speaking before Saturday’s FA Trophy game with Blyth Spartans, he said: “Our gaffer knows the Ipswich game is at the back of our minds, it’s human nature, but your next game is always your most important one so until you get to it you have to focus.

"It’ll be the same for the fans, going to games now but talking about the Ipswich game and knowing it’s around the corner.”

De Girolamo has plenty of experience in the FA Cup, not just with Buxton but with professional clubs including Sheffield United, for whom he scored in the fourth round against Preston earlier in his career.

He said: “When you’re a pro club, the FA Cup means a lot but the league tends to be most important. For non-league clubs it might be the same to a large extent but the FA Cup holds a lot more prestige because of the financial element and potential to make a name for yourselves, so it means a lot to us as a club that we’re doing so well again.”

Looking at the bigger picture this season, De Girolamo, whose goals helped propel Buxton to the NPL Premier Division title last season, acknowledges that it is taking time to fully settle in the National League North but that Buxton are more than holding their own.

He said: “It’s a weird league because there’s not a huge gap between this level and the one we’ve come up from – there are one or two full-time clubs at both levels and crowds can be quite similar too.

"We want to be higher but there’s a long way to go and it’s tight enough that we can go on a run and be in title contention, so there’s a lot to play for.

“We have a lot of new players but if you stay positive then the chemistry soon comes.”