Western Daily Press (Saturday)
DUFF IS EYEING FA CUP SHOCK AT STANLEY
MICHAEL Duff wants his Cheltenham side to make life as difficult as possible for FA Cup opponents Accrington Stanley when the sides meet at the Lancashire club’s Wham Stadium this afternoon.
The Robins travel north to take on a Stanley side who play a level above them in Sky Bet League One for a second round contest that will set up a potentially huge game in the third round for either club.
It will be a tough test for Duff ’s charges, who will be aiming to cause an upset against a divisional rival from last season.
“They are in the league above us, so on paper they are a better team than us,” Duff said at his pre-game press conference. “We were a league above Ebbsfleet and they made it tough for us, so it’s up to us to go and make it tough for them.
“I imagine they’ll be looking at it exactly the same way as us – you’re 90 minutes away from a big tie.
“They’ve carried on from last year. They’ve got really good energy and play a really fluid 4-4-2 where one person pops up somewhere then another person pops up somewhere in his position so they rotate well.
“They are all in it together. Muck and nettles they keep going. They’ve got a real good team belief and team ethic. I know they’ve had a bit of a dip recently, but for them to be where they are in League One nobody would have predicted that even after four defeats.”
Meanwhile, Noel Hunt says that facing a side that is winning at any level poses a problem as Swindon take on Woking in the FA Cup.
Woking sit top of National League South, two points clear of Billericay.
Swindon assistant boss Hunt said the team had to back up their recent form with hard work to carry on their winning run tomorrow.
“I was speaking to the gaffer (Richie Wellens) and he was bang on – they’re in good form, and a team that’s used to winning at any level is dangerous in itself,” said Hunt. “We’ll give them the respect they’re due and we’ll continue to work on the training ground to play against them.
“We can say it, but we have to back that up by doing the dirty details – setting up and being defensively sound, with and without the ball. That means people knowing where they’re going and that means not getting complacent because in the game now, there’s no room for it. You could get punished very easily.”
Looking back on Tuesday night’s game, Hunt said there were still things to work on. He added: “First and foremost, I thought we worked well – we could have made it easier for ourselves than we did but there were a lot of positives, and a few things we need to work on.”