Manager previews the FA Cup
John Ward has got his eye on a FA Cup third round tie against one of the big boys if his team can get through the first two rounds of the competition.
Although the manager will be taking it one game at a time, he wants to be in the velvet bag for the draw for round three.
He said: “The bottom line for us at the moment is to win the first two games in the FA Cup and then get drawn away at Old Trafford.
“None of us in this round are going to win the FA Cup, so you want to get that dream draw.
“You want to make the club a bit of cash, give the supporters a day out, give your players an experience, and then get on with your league programme.
“I want to win against York City, I want to win the second round and then I want to be sat keeping my fingers crossed for a big one in the third round.”
Rovers’ form has steadily improved over the last few weeks, but they will be taking on a York side who are scoring for fun at the moment.
John said: “We have never lost our concentration and work ethic, we have kept a pretty even keel throughout everything we have done, and we have picked up four points in the last two games against top four teams.
“But we have an opponent who has also got four points from their last two games, but have scored six goals to our one.
“We have to give that respect and make sure we don’t go into the game with any sort of loose attitude.
“We need to try and perform as well as we have in our last two games to see if we can get through.”
The manager is looking forward to a Friday night game under the lights.
He said: “It is a Friday night game and it is the FA Cup. Come 10pm on Friday, we are either in it, out of it or heading to York on a Tuesday night, they are the three outcomes, and we want to make sure we are in it.
“Friday under lights is a really good atmosphere, and it adds a little bit extra to a game.
“If you can win your game Saturday is a nice time to be a football manager. It is a big occasion, the fans want us to win, the team wants to win, so let’s see if we can do it.”
And although Rovers will be missing John-Joe O’Toole (suspension) and Will Packwood (cup tied) they will have three senior players back in contention.
John said: “We have Matt Harrold and Lee Brown back fit and well again and we David Clarkson back after his suspension, so we have those boys back in the group, so it is getting stronger.
“Matt and Lee have both trained really well and really hard this week, so it is good to get them back.
“It is three senior players coming back to bolster the squad.”