Carlisle United have been drawn at home to face League One outfit Oldham Athletic in the first round of this season's Emirates FA Cup competition.
Manager Keith Curle said: “It’s going to sound like a cliché but the first thing you want from any cup draw is a home game.
“We’ve got that and now it’s down to us to prepare properly and make sure we go in to the fixture in the right frame of mind.
“It’ll be good for us to pit our wits against a League One side who are looking to be progressive and who are working hard to get some stability, having been through a tougher start to the season than they would have wanted.
“We’ll expect the players to be aiming for a performance for their manager and, as we saw in the recent Checkatrade Trophy, their style of play is very similar to ours. They want to get the ball down, create chances and score goals. That game had plenty of that and there’s no reason why this one won’t be the same.
“I expect it to be a typical cup tie, because this competition always brings its own buzz. The rewards for progressing are there for all to see, with the big clubs just two rounds away. The game is at Brunton Park but we won’t be taking anything for granted. It’ll have to be done professionally or Oldham, who have some very good players, will pick us apart.”
“There’s a lot of football to be played between now and the first week of November so our immediate focus is on that,” he added. “Our first target is to improve our home form, starting with Tuesday night’s visit of Wycombe Wanderers.
“We want to replicate what we’ve been doing away from home on our own pitch so that we can pick up momentum and continue our climb up the table.”
Games will be played over the weekend of 3, 4 and 5 November.
More details to follow.
