TALK of the double was unheard of last season when Colne embarked on the season in the North West Counties League Division Two, but after storming to league and League Cup trophies you'd be forgiven for dreaming again.

Nigel Coates' side currently sit fourth in the league and they're still in the cup, so another double is a possibility and that's without mentioning the FA Vase, that's on the agenda this weekend.

Last season's semi-finalist's are flying the flag for Lancashire once more as the sole representatives, in the third round, but it's something they're used to.

Stone Dominoes stand in Colne's way of progression on Saturday and after suffering two defeats to the team from Stoke already this season, Coates knows only too well what to expect.

"Both games were fairly evenly matched and I expect the same again, but we need to make sure that we get into them early on and make the home advantage pay," said Coates.

"We know it won't be easy but we are all really looking forward to the game."

As well as the prestige of the competition the financial benefits are huge. Last season the competition earned them in excess of £10,000 which might seem a paltry sum when you consider most Premiership players earn more in a week, but at this level it's the difference between surviving and pushing for success.

"The revenue from the competition was obviously nice and the success last season raised the club's profile which together has helped us bring in some good players.

"Because of the success expectations amongst the fans and some people at the club was that we were just going to breeze through the league.

"I spoke to the chairman at the beginning of the season and said that if we were in the top six by Christmas then we will have done okay and then look at it again but I was able to reassess things earlier than I thought. I think if we can stay in the top six at Christmas when we are due to play local rivals Bacup and Ramsbottom who knows what could happen."

"But I'm not surprised by how well we've done, the important thing was going to be could the players adapt to the higher division.

"The tempo is quicker and obviously the quality's better but although it took us a little while to come to terms with it we're doing ok. We're 11 games unbeaten now and go into every game full of confidence, so there's no reason to think that if we play like we know we can do then we won't be in the draw for the next round."