Stuart McCall admits there will be no excuses if Bradford City go out of the FA Cup against Second Division Gillingham tonight.

The Gills beat Walsall 2-1 in their delayed third round replay on Saturday to hand City a trip to Kent to decide who will face either Sheffield Wednesday or Wolves in the fifth round.

McCall knows what it takes to reach an FA Cup final from his days with Everton and although he admits Premiership survival is the number one priority, the City skipper says a cup run can only help their season.

He said: "Most of the boys were not bothered who we eventually faced because both sides are similar in football terms. I don't think there is too much between them.

"It is a game where we will have to work very hard. We have shown in the Premiership that hard work does pay off.

"The Newcastle game is a very good example of that. On paper they have some great players and many expected them to beat us.

"But on the day we had a bit of luck, worked very hard and deserved the victory. We have to stick together and that will again be the case in the fourth round of the cup."

City edged past another Nationwide League side in the third round of the FA Cup with a 2-1 victory at Crewe Alexandra.

Paul Jewell's men were pushed to the limit by the First Division strugglers before Dean Saunders clinched a victory with just nine minutes remaining.

That memory is fresh in McCall's mind and he says City must be on their guard tonight.

He said: "Playing a side from a lower division does bring added pressure with it because we are favourites for the game.

"But we have earned the status of being a Premiership side so we should make the most of it. It will be a tricky game, but we should be the ones going into the fifth round.

"There will be no excuses if we are not. Ability wise we should be stronger and we have to make the most of that."

City also have an important few weeks ahead with vital league games at Sheffield Wednesday and then at home to Watford which could go a long way towards deciding their Premiership fate.

The Bantams are entering a vital stage in their season and McCall says they are keen to avoid adding to their number of fixtures when they face Gillingham tonight.

He said: "We could do without the replay although having said that, we haven't got too many games at the moment.

"But it would obviously be better to go straight through. We would have gone away for a few days if the Chelsea game had not been on.

"Derby and Watford have both done it although having said that after losing at Southampton, we would not have wanted too long without a game. We wanted to bounce back."

And after bouncing back so well against Chelsea with a battling point, it means City can travel to Gillingham full of confidence tonight.

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