AIDY Boothroyd has vowed to give the FA Cup the 'respect it deserves' after Colchester were handed a second round trip to League Two Herford in yesterday afternoon's draw.

Stuart Watson

AIDY Boothroyd has vowed to give the FA Cup the 'respect it deserves' after Colchester were handed a second round trip to League Two Herford in yesterday afternoon's draw.

The U's boss made just three enforced changes to his first choice side as the high-flying League One club easily put non-league outfit Bromley to the sword in a highly professional first round performance on Saturday.

It is the first time in four seasons that the Essex club have made it past the first hurdle of the competition.

And Boothroyd - who reached the semi-finals as Watford boss - says he will not be treating the knock-out tournament as an unwanted distraction from his promotion ambitions.

He said: “I think the FA Cup got a bit of a bad rap not so long ago and people weren't giving it the respect it deserves.

“I want a run in this competition though because I know how it can galvanise a team's season.

“We are a football club, but we are also a business so from that point of view a good cup run will mean the chairman can also give me more money to do things.”