Exeter aim for FA Cup joy 20 years after Man Utd tie

Exeter City drew 0-0 at Old Trafford before losing a televised replay at St James Park

Exeter City have been urged to try to create more FA Cup memories 20 years after their famous draw at Manchester United.

The Grecians host Championship side Oxford United in the third round on Saturday -two decades after a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford.

The revenue from the game, and the televised replay at St James Park, in 2005, helped wipe out the club's debts following a fan takeover after years of mismanagement.

"Part of the beauty of the cup is it creates those memories that fans can talk about 20 years later and get the same feeling and the same buzz and the same excitement," assistant manager Kevin Nicholson told BBC Radio Devon.

"From our point of view it's about creating a new memory, creating new history.

"I think it was 1981 when we last got to the fourth round. There's so many little bits there that we can go for and we can go there without fear on Saturday.

"We can go there, hopefully in front of a big crowd, and we can match up with Oxford and see who comes out on top."

Exeter last went beyond the third round in 1981, when they reached the quarter-finals - a club-best achievement in the competition.

That year they beat non-league Maidstone United in round three before going on to beat top-flight Leicester City in the fourth round and then second tier Newcastle United 4-0 in a fifth-round replay after a 1-1 draw in the north east.

The Grecians eventually went out in the quarter-finals, losing 2-0 to Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

That Spurs side contained the likes of Ossie Ardiles, Steve Archibald, Glenn Hoddle and Garth Crooks and was captained by Steve Perryman, who would go on to become Exeter's director of football.

Had Spurs not beaten Exeter we would never have the famous Ricky Villa goal in the 1981 FA Cup final replay, when the north London side beat Manchester City 3-2.

Exeter City's last foray beyond the FA Cup third round ended with a quarter-final loss at Tottenham in 1981

"It's history. I've been lucky enough to play in the competition, I've been lucky enough to coach and manage in it," added Nicholson.

"It's an incredible opportunity to see how far you can go, to see who you can pick out of that hat to put yourself up against teams from a higher level.

"It does level the playing field, you see those upsets, and we'd love to be one of those teams that causes one on Saturday."

He added: "We as a group feel that we can compete against most teams.

"If it happened to be a Premier League team away it'd be harder, but you get the experience.

"If it's a Championship team at home it's going to be difficult, but we've got a chance, and if it was anything below that then you're on the other end of potentially a giant-killing.

"So it all has it's own different connotations in how that looks.

"The real answer for us is to prepare as you prepare for any game, make sure you're ready and then go out and execute."