Crook manager Alan Oliver wants a partisan Millfield crowd to be an extra man when the Northern League second division club chase a semi-final place in the FA Vase at home to Bury Town.

Crook's run to the last eight has captured the imagination of the town and a crowd of well over a thousand is expected to squeeze into the ground today, the biggest crowd since Crook were on the Amateur Cup trail in the 1960s.

Oliver, who watched their Eastern Counties League opponents play last weekend, said;" The crowd can be our 12th man.

"It is going to be a very tough game against a big, strong team, but that's what we expected at this stage of the competition. If we can unsettle them, then I think we'll cause them a few problems. We must play to our strengths.

"We'll need as much support as we can, right from the first whistle, and so we want the crowd to make plenty of noise.

"The backing we were given by the travelling fans in the last round at Arnold was tremendous, so hopefully they'll give us the same again, if not more.

"When we scored at home against St Blazey two rounds ago, I'd never heard a roar like it."

Crook's league form has slipped since the last-round win over Arnold, and Oliver agrees that the players have been thinking about this game since the draw was made.

"It's human nature that the players have been thinking of the Vase,'' he said.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reach the semi-final of a national cup competition, but rest assured that their minds will be on this game when they come out of the dressing rooms to the cheers of the crowd.

"If we win, then we can all celebrate together."

Defender Steve West will have a fitness test on his hamstring injury, while former Middlesbrough defender Dean Gordon is also added to the squad after brief spells with Chester and Blackpool.

Striker Roy Allen returns to the side after a one-week suspension, and will resume his partnership with Jonathan Milroy.

The club is advising fans to get to the ground early.