Dickov flat out for cup glory

Paul Dickov: no mistakes

PAUL Dickov is determined not to make selection mistakes in the FA Cup for a second time when Athletic take on Kidderminster tomorrow.

In his first season in charge, Dickov rested influential duo Kieran Lee and Dean Furman for the first-round tie at Accrington Stanley and suffered a humiliating 3-2 defeat.

With chairman Simon Corney this week making it clear how financially vital it is for the club to make knock-out progress after two first-round defeats this season, Athletic's manager will leave nothing to chance.

“I got my fingers burnt at Accrington and that won't be happening again,” said Dickov, who will hold the celebrations on turning 40 yesterday until after the game.

“The FA Cup is massive to this club. We will do everything we can to win. It is about what it means for the club for lots of reasons, including financially.

“Having a settled team that is playing well, we don't want to make too many changes.

“If I didn't field a strong team, that shows disrespect to Kidderminster.”

One enforced change Dickov will make is in bringing in James Tarkowski to replace suspended Jean-Yves Mvoto in central defence.



ATHLETIC chairman Simon Corney still hopes to build the club's new North Stand in time for next season.

Amendments have been made to the planning application to make the capacity slightly bigger than the originally-mooted 3,000 and the hope is that work will start early in the New Year