RICHARD Hill has never met the man who will occupy the opposing dugout in tomorrow’s (Sunday, 2pm) massive FA Cup second round tie at Southport.

But the Eastleigh boss does have past experience of his Sandgrounders counterpart Gary Brabin.

During Hill’s time as assistant manager at Tranmere Rovers, ex-Runcorn, Doncaster and Bury midfielder Brabin was not a million miles away, doing hard graft in the Blackpool engine room.

Brabin, also a former Southport player, began his managerial career with the Sandgrounders in 2008 and went on to take charge at Cambridge United and Luton Town before returning to Haig Avenue in October following the departure of ex-Saint Martin Foyle.

“I’ve never met Gary Brabin, but he was playing for Blackpool when I was at Tranmere and you know what to expect from his teams,” said Hill.

“They reflect the way he used to play, which was very competitive.

“Gary wasn’t a dirty player, he wasn’t crude, but he went about his business in a very competitive and tough manner.

“I don’t know him, but I always had a bit of respect for him as a player.

“Blackpool wasn’t exactly a derby for Tranmere, but it wasn’t that far away and he was a player I always looked at and thought ‘I hope he’s not on his game today’.

“It would have made life a lot easier if he hadn’t been, but more often than not he was!

“A couple of our lads have played for him – Stuart Fleetwood at Luton and Jai Reason at Cambridge – and they speak very highly of him as well.

“He came to watch our game (against Dartford) the other night and he’s the type of manager I like who goes and does his homework himself.

“He was still in the ground come the final whistle on Tuesday and you have to respect the man for that when he’s got a four-hour drive home.

“It’s a big game for us tomorrow, but we have to remember that it’s just as big for Southport.

“We’re going to have to have eight or nine players playing well and, if we do, we’ll have a chance. If not, we’ll have no chance at all.”

n The draw for the third round of the FA Cup will be shown live on BBC2 from 7pm on Monday night.