Gaffer says it's game on ahead of the long trip south...
With the eyes of the footballing world watching a small corner of North Somerset on Saturday afternoon hoping for a FA Cup giant-killing, Paul Dickov is eager to avoid any potential humiliation when his Doncaster Rovers take on Weston super Mare, of the Conference South in the First Round.Present at the Woodspring Stadium, which usually attracts around 300 spectators, will be an attendance close to ten times that figure, a plethora of TV cameras and the FA Cup itself.
Watching on, a man who masterminded the defeat of seven time winners Liverpool during his tenure as Oldham Athletic manager in one of the biggest upsets in recent memory.
“We go down there expecting and wanting to win the game but we have to be very wary of being involved shock wise,” admitted Dickov.
“I’ve been there many times and if you’re not on it 100% you could trip over.
“It is [special] for me, it is for the players and it is for the club and it can be a catalyst for bigger things.
“Money from cup runs gets put back in to your budget and you can make a lot of money from it, if you get a decent draw or televised game and that can influence what I can offer players next season.”
The clubs have never faced each other and the minnows can take heart from the fact that Rovers entered and lost at the third round stage of the competition last year – one that Dickov conceded was a low point – and he is keen to dodge a repeat.
“We had them watched the other week and we’ve had various clips and DVD’s of their games through so we’ve made sure we’ve done our homework.
“Injuries aside, we’ll be playing the strongest possible side that we can because we want to show the FA Cup respect, as well as Weston super Mare. We’ve got to realise it’s a competition that we want to go as far as we can in it. We’ll be going down with as strong a squad as we can.
“People will be looking at their results but the FA Cup always has a knack of throwing up nasty surprises and the underdog always have their day so we’ve got to be on our guard professionally and treat it seriously,” he finished.