Magpies are eager to make up further ground on the leaders in National League North

The Magpies currently sit in third spot in the National League North table after winning four and losing only one of their opening eight league games.

And last Saturday, they moved through to the third qualifying round of the FA Cup thanks to a 3-0 victory at NPL West Division outfit Mossley.

Chorley are now just two wins away from reaching the first-round proper once again although any thought of that have been tempered by this week’s draw.

The Magpies will certainly have to be at their best to progress to the fourth and final qualifying round after being drawn away to fellow NL North outfit Spennymoor Town – a tie which will take place a week on Saturday.

Preece told ChorleyFCTV: “It’s a difficult draw. We were hoping that the luck might change for us.

"I think we have had one home tie in the last three years and that’s out of six games.

"It’s just disappointing for the fans. They haven’t had a home tie for a while.

"I think they have only lost once in this calendar year so it’s just about as tough a draw as you can get but we went there last season and won.”

Before that, the Magpies have an important trip to South Shields this weekend to look forward to.

Preece’s men can move within two points of early leaders Scunthorpe United with victory.

The Mariners sit in a midtable spot after winning four and losing four of their first eight.

They suffered a heavy defeat last weekend when they were dumped out of the FA Cup, 5-0 by Macclesfield.

"South Shields is a long way to go,” said Preece. “You can kind of feel on your own up there, they get a decent crowd. Whatever support we have there could really make the difference for us.

"We did pretty well there last season and got done late on so we will look forward to it.”