David Artell expects a tough test against Carlisle United in the FA Cup this weekend but he is determined to make sure we are in the hat for round two. The Alex boss is pleased we have a home tie against a club from the same league after drawing his hometown club, Rotherham United, and then Blackburn Rovers last season!

Ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup first round tie, the boss said: “Carlisle will be a stiff test. They have had some good results this season under John (Sheridan) but they are a League Two club, we are at home and it is a winnable tie.

“The key will be to believe we can do it. It would be nice to get in the hat for round two because I know we say it every season, but we could do with a cup run. I remember the likes of Burton, Crawley and Yeovil, who have had little cup runs and got a big club and that set them up financially for a couple of years at least.

“Last year, we had Rotherham and then Blackburn from League One. I think there was only Wigan left of the top teams from League One! To get three games out of the FA Cup and to go out gallantly showed how important it was for us and we gave it a real go.

“It was disappointing to go out in the end, it always is. I hate losing games, but I was proud of what we achieved.”