Oxford United go in to this season's Emirates FA Cup with Head Coach Karl Robinson determined to make progress in a competition that he holds very close to his heart.
“My first memory as a football fan was in 1986 when Ian Rush famously smashed the camera at Wembley” he told iFollow ahead of Sunday’s game at Hayes and Yeading.
“The streets of Liverpool with the blue and the red and the tin foil FA Cups everywhere really made me love football. I think most people remember a particular final or game and then in 1989 I remember going to the rearranged game after Hillsborough, and later the game against West Ham where Steven Gerrard ran the game.
“I’ve actually got a picture of my daughter aged one with the FA Cup in her cot! We used to do events for the Academy at Liverpool and I had to take it to Anfield from the Training Ground and had to take it home overnight! The cup is an institution within not just football but our whole culture and that is never going to dwindle for people of our generation.
“I have been involved in some great games over the years and it’s one that always brings it all home to me. I have been involved in games against clubs like Nantwich and Cambridge City plus Chelsea! A few years ago we played Port Vale away on the Saturday and my brother played for Warrington at home against Exeter City on the Friday night and he scored the winning goal! I drove up to watch that game so I know how it affects clubs and I know how league clubs can slip up.
“The Magic will strike somewhere, we know that, but we have to make sure it doesn’t happen against us.
“ I have a thing I want to achieve and something I don’t think Oxford United have had for a long time: when was the last time they got to December still involved in all four domestic competitions? Everyone says you can’t do that but I like that challenge.”
See the full interview plus Rob Dickie’s thoughts in the Preview Show, all in iFollow now.