There will be around 5,000 Sheffield United fans in the away end at Villa Park today – and no doubt many more at home.

FA Cup third round day used to be one of the highlights of the season as the moment when a few of the big boys got their noses bloodied by lower-division upstarts.

Now the only tradition is hearing a Premier boss pipe up with the annual whine that the competition is an inconvenience that gets in the way of the bread and caviar of their super-duper league.

Usually it’s Sam Allardyce heading the complain campaign as he prepares to roll out a team containing seven juniors, three ground staff and the tea lady’s oldest son.

But this week Paul Lambert has led the cry for the put-upon top table having to sully themselves among the great unwashed.

Lambert, you will recall, was last seen in these pages decrying the Bradford City chaplain this time last year.

That was just before his Aston Villa got dumped out of that “other” cup in the semi-finals.

“When you’re knocked out of a semi-final you might as well get knocked out in the first round,” he grumbled when reminded of the upcoming anniversary this week.

But deep down, Lambert – and you suspect half the Premier League – don’t even want to do that. Given half a chance, they’d opt out the domestic cups altogether.

They may pay lip service to the “world’s oldest cup competition” but, in the same way the TV companies do before racing to pick Man United at home to AN Other, they don’t really give a stuff about the so-called romance.

Money – and the millions you receive for surviving in the top division – is all that counts. As Lambert sourly pointed out, Wigan would probably have swapped last year’s cup triumph for finishing fourth from bottom.

Cue Lambert: “The Premier League is the most vital thing that anyone wants to get into.”

Forget the fact that 90 per cent of that division can only ever dream of finishing in the top two or three; it’s still a higher priority than some day out at Wembley.

And perish the thought you should win the thing and have the extra fixtures of a Europa League run to squeeze in ...

Lambert’s view may be pragmatic but, for any fan of football who has grown up with the FA Cup, it makes deeply depressing reading.

So for the good of what’s left of this once-proud institution, c’mon you Blades...