Grant: Fleetwood must raise their game to make cup history

Town will have to overcome Championship Bristol City at Highbury this evening if they are to win through to the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time and earn a crack at Premier League opposition.

They welcome struggling Bristol City to their Fylde coast fortress for tonight’s replay, 10 days after their battling 0-0 stalemate at Ashton Gate.

But even though Town now have home advantage, Grant is well aware they must take their game to another level to earn a visit to Sunderland or Burnley in the last 32.

The 26-year-old said: “Bristol City are a Championship side, so they’ve obviously got some very good players.

“But we went there and we matched them. We did more than enough to earn our draw and I think it was fully deserved. We had chances to win the game and on another day we could have come home with a 1-0 win.

“But we’ll have to do what we did at their place and more at home to get the victory because the manager has drummed into us that it’s not going to be an easy game.

“They will put a strong team out because there’s a massive prize at stake in terms of going to a Premier League team in the next round.

“That’s a massive incentive for us. Not many of us will get to play against a Premier League side in our career.

“That’s the facts, so we’ll be doing everything we can to get into the next round.”

The ex-Blackpool attacker is well aware what’s at stake.

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also made it abundantly clear that the Fleetwood squad is well aware of what is at stake tonight, adding: “The club has never been in the fourth round before so it would be a very big achievement if we can get through.

“That’s the aim and we want to make history for the club and put it on the map.

“Personally, if we do get through, I’d like to play Sunderland because it’s a lovely stadium to play at and I’ve never played there.”

Grant also made a rallying call for the Fleetwood fans to come out and support their team to roar them on to the next round.

“The lads haven’t stopped talking about the away fans at Bristol City,” he said.

“They sang from the start to the finish and we were in the dressing room after the game and we could still hear them singing. It was brilliant.

“They were the same against Bristol Rovers on Saturday and they do play a massive part. We need the fans to get behind us if we’re going to do anything this season. They do give you that extra energy and buzz.”