SWINDON Town’s flamboyant manager, Paolo Di Canio, fancies his League Two side to knock out Colchester United in tomorrow’s FA Cup second round tie.

SWINDON Town’s flamboyant manager, Paolo Di Canio, fancies his League Two side to knock out Colchester United in tomorrow’s FA Cup second round tie.

The U’s, who have slithered down to 15th in League One, after back-to-back defeats to MK Dons and Crewe, will be hoping to get their season back on track with a home win over the Robins.

But di Canio has already plotted the downfall of League One promotion candidates Huddersfield in the previous round, by a thumping 4-1 scoreline, so John Ward’s Colchester team must be on their guard.

The 43-year-old Italian, who played for the likes of Lazio, Juventus, Napoli and AC Milan in Serie A, as well as several teams in Great Britain, including Celtic and West Ham, is certainly not lacking in confidence.

“Colchester come from a bad moment, but we come from a good moment, so the game will be 50/50,” insisted di Canio during yesterday’s press conference at the County Ground.

“But I am sure we have the quality to get a win. This game is absolutely important. It is a big test because we play against a League One side.

“This is a chance to go through and maybe dream that we can play against a top side in the next round.

“I can’t say if they (Colchester) will be worried, but for sure they will have a lot of respect for us because in my opinion, in the way we play, I feel we would have better games in League One than we do in League Two.

“It does not happen often that a side playing at the lower level beats a team who play at a better level, but they will look at the fact that we have done this three times already in two months.

“So that means we have some quality and we can prove this at any time during this year,” added di Canio.

The Robins, who have not lost in their last 11 matches, have already beaten Bristol City, Exeter and Huddersfield in Cup competitions.

Meanwhile, U’s boss Ward insisted: “I’m looking for a positive reaction to our two defeats. I want to be sat on the edge of my seat on Sunday listening to that third round draw.”

Steve Gillespie will return to the U’s squad after injury, but will probably start from the bench.