FRAMLINGHAM Town manager Liam Abraham doesn’t want his side to be ‘nearly men’ this season.

The Castlemen face AFC Sudbury Reserves in the CNet Training Suffolk Senior Cup Final on Friday night at Colchester United FC, kick-off 7.30pm.

Framlingham narrowly missed out on promotion from Division One North of the Thurlow Nunn League, losing 5-4 on penalties to Harwich & Parkeston after a 1-1 draw in the play-off semi-final.

That followed a third-place finish in the league, and Abraham feels Framlingham Town deserve to win something this season.

He said: “Everyone wants to lift silverware. You don’t want to be the nearly men, whether that is losing in the play-off semi-finals or finishing runners-up in the Suffolk Senior Cup.

“I feel we deserve to win something this season – we were front-runners in the league for 50 per cent of the season – while in the Senior Cup we have been clinical and deserve to be where we are in the final.

“After the disappointment of the play-offs we will be looking to bounce back. We didn’t allow ourselves to focus on one more than the other, but now our sole focus is on the cup final.”

Framlingham have never won the Senior Cup, losing 3-0 to Grundisburgh in the 1995-96 season in the club’s only previous final appearance.

Abraham said that reaching the final had created a real buzz around the town.

He said: “We put on a coach for the semi-final, but that was only half full, but this time we have only five seats left on a 52-seater coach.

“There has been loads of people stopping me in the supermarket and street asking me about the final and when it is – it has created a real buzz around the town.”

Abraham said the final was a day that the club’s long-serving volunteers will be able to enjoy.

“From a club perspective there are people who have been involved for a long time – it’s our chairman Dean Warner’s 24th year, while (Life Vice President) Syd Vice and (secretary) Fiona Whatling have dedicated a lifetime to the club.

“Reaching the final means an awful lot to them and everyone is really looking forward to it. Hopefully we do it for them, but win, lose or draw it is a day they can enjoy,” added Abraham.

Framlingham will be without five players who would potentially have all been involved in the match-day squad.

Players’ Player of the Year Josh Lucraft is suspended after being sent off in the final league game of the regular season away to Downham Town.

Cyrus Thrope is also suspended after similarly picking up two yellow cards in the play-off semi-final defeat, while Will Aldis, Charlie Howlett and James Ross are all cup-tied.

Abraham said: “Missing five players will hinder us. It would really hurt some teams, but we have a really strong squad who are still capable of winning the cup.”