Manchester United great Andy Cole backing Town to push his old club

The former Red Devils striker, who won the competition in 1996 and 1999, saw Town against Fleetwood, his son Devante's team, in a goalless draw earlier this month and was impressed with Micky Mellon's side.

Cole is a former team-mate of Mellon's from Bristol City and reckons it's all set up for a classic at Greenhous Meadow.

"I watched them a few weeks ago, when they played against Fleetwood," said Cole.

"They were tough conditions and it was a very windy day. To be fair, Shrewsbury tried to get it down to play.

"I think it will be a really good game and the good thing for them is I've seen a few teams in League One but they don't just lump it forward.

"They do try to play and it's refreshing to see that style in League One.

"I played with their manager many years ago at Bristol City and he plays with the right attitude."

Cole believes Town will be inspired by taking on United and that they will raise their game against the Premier League giants.

"There's no doubt they'll enjoy the game and they will give it a good go," he said.

"No doubt they were all buzzing when they got drawn out of the hat at home to Manchester United.

"What more can you ask for? Every player will be giving 110 per cent, for sure, as they're going to want to try to upset United in the FA Cup."

Cole lifted the trophy twice during his United days and he is an ardent supporter of the famous old tournament.

"It's a great competition to be in and a great competition to win," he said. "When you see these games, you've got to be very happy.

"I love the FA Cup. I was fortunate to win it a couple of times and should have won a couple more, to be brutally honest.

"But I can't be greedy. If you look at the competition now, if we can beat Shrewsbury, you can half smell the hot dogs."

Mellon revealed Cole was in touch with him after the Town boss compared Jamie Vardy with him.

The Salop gaffer famously took Vardy from Halifax and had him for a season at Fleetwood during which he scored 30 goals, helping them into the Football League, before selling him to Leicester for £1.1m.

"I played with some great strikers in Andy Cole and John Aldridge (at Tranmere), so I was very lucky," said Mellon. "Jamie really reminded me of Andy Cole, just the way he sprinted, and Andy was single minded as well.

"Coley actually phoned me up after I said it and said 'he's not as good as me! I said 'give it a wee bit of time'. He just had something."

Meanwhile, Mellon insists the countdown to tonight's eagerly-awaited encounter couldn't have gone much better.

The international media descended on Shrewsbury for two press days and the Town boss and his players have enjoyed their time in the spotlight. But the Scot insists nothing has taken their focus away from trying to cause of the biggest upsets of all time.

"The week went very well. We were keen for everyone to get involved in it because I wanted all the players to sample all the excitement and the build-up to such a big game," he said.

"But in training, we've also told the players to be fully focused so they're prepared.

"The players have done both very well and we've got to be pleased with the way things have gone."