Brian Wilson may be in the latter stages of his playing career, but the Barrow AFC defender is about to experience something new when he takes part in the FA Trophy this weekend.

The 35-year-old is playing in the National League for the first time in his career, having previously spent his entire senior career with clubs in the Football League.

The Bluebirds will be hosting FC Halifax Town at Holker Street on Saturday in what is the first round of the knockout competition for non-league clubs in Steps 1-4 of the National League system.

Having been knocked out of this season’s FA Cup prematurely, the FA Trophy represents a second chance to go on a good cup run and is also a competition AFC have previously triumphed at in 1990 and 2010.

Wilson said: “It’s my first time in the FA Trophy and it will be good to be a part of it and nice to have a good run in it.

“The reward at the end of it is a game at Wembley, which obviously all the lads would look forward to.

“There’s a lot of hard work we’ll have to put in, but the way we’re playing at the minute, we’ll be going into every game with plenty of confidence.”

Barrow head into their tie against Halifax with three wins from their last four games in the National League, a run which has lifted them back into the top half of the table.

Wilson will be hoping for better luck against the Shaymen this time, however, after a calf injury sustained in AFC’s 2-0 away defeat in the league against the same opponents in August ruled him of action for two months.

Wilson said: “That was at the back of my mind and, obviously, that hopefully won’t happen again and we get a positive result. We need to concentrate on ourselves, we know what we can improve on and we know where we’re doing well. The manager will have told us bits about Halifax’s weaknesses and strengths, but it’s important we perform as we have been performing.”