Club officials were informed of their expulsion for playing the ineligible Curtis Jack in their First Qualifying Round victory over Wells City earlier this month on Monday after a hearing at Wembley but escaped a fine from the Football Association.

With Wells reinstated to play Blue Square Bet South side Woking in the next round this weekend, the Bluebirds instead travel to Cirencester Town in a rearranged league fixture and the Chippenham chairman says that the club is determined to move forward.

“As far as we’re concerned, that’s the end of it and you could see the spirit of the players last Saturday (a 4-1 win over Hemel Hempstead Town),” said Applegate.

“Manager Adie Mings said the board had done a fantastic job dealing with everything and we will move on now.

Mings felt for his players missing out on a tie against higher league opposition, particularly striker Dave Gilroy, who only returned to Hardenhuish Park from Woking in the summer.

“You’ve got to feel not only for Dave but for the young players, like James Guthrie, who would have enjoyed playing in a game like that,” he said. “But it’s happened now and the players had accepted it even before they knew the result on Monday.

Full-back Jack, who has parted company with the club, was found to be ineligible to play from May for fines owed to the Somerset and Gloucestershire FAs.

The Bluebirds could still face action from the Southern League for the player’s involvement in league fixtures.

League secretary Jason Mills said: “There is a possibility that the club could lose the points gained in the matches that the player participated in.”

Source: Wiltshire Times