A hugely disappointed Gary Setchell insisted that his team must now use the momentum generated by their FA Trophy run to push on in their quest for Southern League success this season.

The Linnets went down bravely to defeat against Conference Premier Gateshead on Saturday despite giving the giants a scare.

'I have just told the players that we need to use the last few weeks as a springboard for the rest of the season,' said Setchell. 'We began at Stourbridge where no-one gave us a chance and we won and it was similar at Buxton where we defied the odds.

'Those displays filled us with confidence and that confidence and belief has been the backbone to our unbeaten run which has unfortunately come to an end.'

Setchell was justifiably proud of his team at Gateshead despite the defeat.

'We have been great today, giving maximum effort, maximum desire.

'I really cannot ask for anything else. I spoke with Neil (Aspin Gateshead manager) and he said we have given his side a game out there and haven't made it comfortable for them which is a tribute to the lads.

'If you had come to watch this today I think at times you wouldn't have known there was two levels between us.

'However it's all about fine lines and I'm disappointed we have conceded from two set pieces and disappointed that we haven't made better use of some of the chances we created out there.

'It's tough to take but we have to move on. We now have to regroup and go again on Tuesday. It's yet another long trip for us (Basingstoke) which is never easy and we now have a few injuries which you have to expect when playing this amount of games in a short spell.

'For me it's a case of rolling up your sleeves, getting on with it and getting the foundations laid for another unbeaten run. The season is very much alive for us with lots of games to play and lots of points to win. For me the positives far outweigh the negatives.'