Gareth Ainsworth disappointed to see FA Cup 'diluted' by modern football, promises strong lineup for Barrow tie

"I'm a big advocate of the FA Cup," he said during his pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend's cup tie.

"It's a big, big day for me. I want to be in the hat for Round 2. It's fantastic seeing your name come out in that draw, and I've had some magic moments with that competition. So yeah, really, really looking forward to Saturday now."

Ainsworth admitted that, while he's all fired-up for the FA Cup, not everyone else in football seems to feel quite as enthusiastic about the famous old competition these days.

"I'm so disappointed that clubs have to try their best to get fans through the door for the FA Cup," he said.

"It used to be a regular major fixture, and it's just diluted over the years. And it's a shame, because for as good as the Premier League, and all the other cups and the Champions League is, for as good as it all is, I think that the FA Cup probably took a little bit of a hit on all that.

"It's disappointing, because I remember three channels on the TV, and one of them on a Saturday in May was FA Cup history, Wembley Way, the buses coming with the teams, how they got there. Magic days watching with my dad, and I've done it with my son a couple of times.

"But it seems to have died off, and we need to reignite that. So hopefully Saturday we can reignite Gillingham's FA Cup love."

Ainsworth suggested the rise in value of the Premier League, and the colossal sums of money at stake for every finishing position in the top division means that teams either in the Premier League, or those with a chance of earning promotion to the top tier, have started to view the FA Cup as a secondary, or in some cases, a tertiary priority. As a result, he doesn't feel the competition is held in quite the same esteem as it was back in the 1990s and before.

"I think taking the replays away, but also the importance of the Premier League [have contributed]," he suggested.

"The money that is in the Premier League now is far superior to anything you can win in the FA Cup until the later rounds. And I think people probably got to the stage where being in the Premier League is more important than some FA Cup games. And I don't know if that's true or not – that's just me speculating in my opinion.

"I do believe that it doesn't have the gravitas that it used to have. And anyone who wants to say it does, I'll argue with them, because I don't believe teams do treat it the same as they always did."

One thing is clear, Ainsworth is a FA Cup lifer, and he's determined to uphold the best traditions of the competition by paying it the respect it deserves and fielding a strong lineup in a bid to go as deep into the competition as possible.

"There's just the fire in me that the FA Cup is so important," he stated.

"I'm a born and bred proud Englishman that watched it week in, week out. I remember West Ham in the 80s and Ricky Villa and all that sort of stuff. The early 80s, magnificent moments, you know. And then Coventry and you know all the ones, the Liverpool and Everton battles in the late 80s – fantastic moments.

"The FA Cup was always huge [and] I want it to be huge again, and I say I'll be playing as strong a team as I can do go out and get the result."