IT’S slightly strange to be playing on a Sunday rather than our usual Saturday, but I can’t wait to get started in the FA Cup this year.

It’s a competition which I think actually made me fall in love with football when I was a kid.

Do you remember the famous Ian Rush goal in the final when the ball flies into the net and hits the camera in the goal?

That’s probably the first game I remember watching on TV and I still think about that moment whenever the Cup comes around.

We’re not that far from Wembley tomorrow, but in football terms, Hayes & Yeading is a million miles away from the final.

It will be exactly what you expect in the Cup – a hundred miles an hour and the home side giving it everything to try to cause an upset.

READ MORE: We must be on our game, says Rob Dickie

We’re not daft, we know that the TV cameras are there because there is a chance of an upset, but that has to be our motivation rather than our fear.

We can’t go out there tomorrow with any negative thoughts whatsoever.

We have to be determined to show the world what a good team we are and why people are starting to take notice of our form and what we are building here.

We have given Hayes & Yeading total respect in the build-up.

Despite having issues in watching them live with their last two matches being postponed, we have prepared properly – just as we do for every game, no matter the competition we are playing in.

I had a slight taster of what to expect earlier in the week when I went over to Reading City to see our under 18s in the FA Youth Cup.

It was seriously tough going for them on a cold, wet evening and really what got them through in the end was character and togetherness.

They are two things that run right the way through this club.

Regarding the team I put out, we will just have to wait and see who is available.

Josh Ruffels, Chris Cadden and Rob Hall have all missed training at some stage this week but hopefully will be OK.

The extra day will help us in that respect, but as we have shown over the last few weeks, we have depth to the squad.

Hopefully if we match our hosts for tenacity and effort then we should have enough to ensure that we get our name in the hat for the next round.

THE postponement of the Ipswich game next weekend is not ideal.

We are in good form, especially at home, and were looking forward to that match.

But now we have a blank weekend.

We will let the players have a few days off after Tuesday night’s leasing.com Trophy game at Crawley – although a replay in the FA Cup might change that plan once again.

Maybe that is extra motivation for the players to get the right result tomorrow!

It’s rare that you can get a little break during the season so we have to make sure that we use it wisely, rest up and then maintain our momentum up when we get going again.