Ben Herd admits the FA Cup is of secondary importance to Shrewsbury Town this season – but insists the club’s players will be going all out to topple higher division Walsall in Saturday’s first round tie at the Banks’s Stadium.
Right back Herd, frustrated with Town’s inconsistency in League Two, is treating this weekend’s cup tie as just another game as Town prepare to lock horns with a Saddlers side currently mid-table in League One.
“It’s a local derby in the FA Cup but I personally view every game as the same anyway,” said Herd. “You want to win every game you play in and do as well as you can.
“It’s good for us to have a rival club and there will probably be a big crowd there, but it doesn’t really bother me who we play.
“The FA Cup is a special tournament but we’re not going to kid ourselves as we’re not going to win it. The league’s our bread and butter and is the most important thing.
“If you get to the fifth round of the FA Cup and finish 20th in the league then it’s a poor season. You’re judged on your league performance so that’s the most important thing.”
Herd, who faced Walsall twice last season as the Saddlers enjoyed promotion under Richard Money, added: “Walsall did well to get up but this season they’re a completely different side.
“They’ve got rid of a lot of players including a few of the lads who got into this division’s team of the year last season.
“It will be a different Walsall team that we’re going to face but they’ve got the likes of Tommy Mooney who we’re aware of from playing against him a few times.
“They’re a good side and they’re not in League One for no reason so it will be a good test for us.”
Herd was disappointed with Town’s first half display as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat at Darlington on Tuesday but felt they were much improved after the restart. “You can’t mask the fact that we still lost the game even though our second half performance maybe warranted something,” he said. “If we play like we did in the first half we won’t get anything anywhere all season.
“But if we play like the Shrewsbury Town who came out for the second half and got amongst them, and get a bit of grit between our teeth, go for it and play at a high tempo, results will be a lot better.”
Herd added he believes the two days the squad spent together in the north east preparing for the Darlington game will prove beneficial.
“You can’t knock the manager at all in his meticulous planning,” he said. “He’s been different class and very forward thinking. We must thank the manager for looking after us.
“All the lads get on well anyway but it’s nice to see a different side of people because you’re at close quarters all the time and it was good to get together.”