Gaffer lauds FA Cup and predicts shocks over the weekend.
Paul Dickov has said that he and his side have nothing to fear as the Scot aims to steer Rovers in to the FA Cup Fourth Round for the first time in five years.The Keepmoat Stadium outfit entertain League One leaders Bristol City and Dickov sees it as the perfect opportunity to rectify September’s 3-0 defeat at Ashton Gate.
“They’re flying high at the top of the league and will come here probably expecting to win but the way we’re playing at the minute and we go in with confidence,” he said.
“It’s a cup game and one we want to win so we’re going to go for it straight from the off.
“We know the home form has to be better. We started well against Coventry and that was a big factor in going on to win the game.
“If we can better our home form and match it to our away form we’ll soon see where we are by the end of the month.”
The 42 year old also said that the romance had returned to the once maligned competition and Rovers will have a better chance of progression now that Kyle Bennett and Nathan Tyson are back to full fitness.
“There will be shocks over the weekend of the FA Cup, the magic is back now and everyone connected with it wants to do well in it because it’s the biggest cup competition in the world and it has a lot of history behind it so it’s a competition I love,” Dickov proclaimed.
“Looking ahead to tomorrow, we’ve got Nathan Tyson and Kyle Bennett back and those two have been excellent for us this season and the squad looks stronger with them in. We’re watching games and speaking to people all the time, but we want to keep the form going at the minute.
“It’s a group of players that, recently, have been brilliant for us and we don’t want to upset the balance too much, we want to keep them all together because that’s important.”
One player Rovers will be without after the Robins fixture, though, is Dean Furman who is due on international duty with South Africa for the impending Africa Cup of Nations tournament, something Dickov begrudgingly admitted he’ll have to contend with.
He said: “We knew what was going to happen and we’ll have to deal without him and in the nicest possible way, I hope they’re not in the competition for that long!”
“For Dean’s sake though, it’s fantastic for him. He’s captaining his country in a major tournament and there are not many players at this level that can say that.
“He’s very proud to be captain and he deserves it. He’s a great kid, who has an attitude that is fantastic and we want him to do well – but not for too long!”