Cup Temperature

Two cup wins in four days is beginning to raise temperatures. Another couple and it could become a fever.

Yes, we may only be through to the 2nd Round of the F A Cup and the 4th Round of the League Cup. Yes, the latest opposition was only Coalville Town and Stevenage. However, we have gone out of the F A Cup to non-league clubs before and Stevenage are challenging the O's at the top of League Two.

We have been drawn at home to Stockport County in Round 2 of the F A Cup on Saturday 26th November. The draw for Round 4 of the League Cup takes place at 10pm tomorrow night (Thursday).

We have battled hard in the League Cup games and are perhaps a little fortunate to have seen off both QPR and Stevenage on penalties after riding our luck. However, luck is not something we have had in this particular competition. Our record is particular poor, so it really would be something to make the quarter-finals and maybe have a go at a bigger club.

Early days in the F A Cup obviously but we should be looking at seeing off Stockport who are languishing in League Two assuming we field a strong side.

The players obviously deserve credit for battling in these games and winning but Ben Garner has been brave in taking both competitions seriously and fielding strong sides. A marked improvement over previous years when supporters and the club were let down by weakened teams which were invariably shaded out of matches we were capable of winning. Lee Bowyer sticks out for this and his quote that "we weren't going to win it anyway" was just so wrong in many ways. 

Injuries are always a risk but if you don't buy a ticket you won't win. Young Zach Mitchell proved that on Saturday. We have a first-team squad capable of fielding two elevens and a host of U23's who have been stepping up well when called on. 

Thomas Sandgaard might also give Ben a better January window hearing if we are still alive in two Cup competitions come Christmas. He will have taken a financial loss on Saturday and Stockport might not scrape even either, but the chances of a money-spinning tie in tomorrow's League Cup draw and the F A Cup 3rd Round if we see off Stockport become real. 

I have never taken the view that Cup football invariably affects League performance negatively. Winning breeds confidence and can become a habit (just like losing can) and that's why we should always take these games seriously. Let's see if we can roll bottom-of-the-table Burton over on Saturday on the back of this week and can then look forward to challenging the top six again after Port Vale visit the Valley Saturday-week.