Aaron Wilbraham: Magic of the FA Cup is alive

Salop take on York City on Saturday in the first round proper of the competition, but in recent years Premier League sides have heavily rotated their teams for the games.

And last year, the third and fourth-round replays were also scrapped by the FA to combat the fixture pile-up, a blow to smaller clubs who make a lot of revenue from the games.

But Wilbraham thinks there is a lot to gain for teams like Salop insisting the competition still has so much merit.

He said: “First of all, the club will earn money off it, which is always good for a club like ourselves.

“I think for players, it is a great experience to go and test themselves against better players in the competition.

“I think it helps you gain good momentum in the league too.

“I know some people thought it was a distraction, but I always thought it helped a good Cup run.

“I think that exposure, which got people talking about you could give you that confidence to take into your league form as well.”

Lots of big clubs now use the Cup as a chance to give their younger players minutes and experience.

Many teams know they are unlikely to win it, especially with the fierce competition of teams like Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea when it gets into the latter stages.

But the former MK Dons and Bristol City forward completely understands why clubs rotate, and he says with the quality in their squads it makes sense.

“I think sometimes when that happens you have got to look at the fixture pile-up of the Premier League clubs and understand why they do it,” he said. “And because they have the squads they have, why wouldn’t they. We have done it ourselves in the EFL Trophy to try and develop our young players.

“If the PL teams feel they can do that then they should be allowed.

“I think from my experiences whenever I have reached those kinds of rounds, with the third round last year with Liverpool, they still put out a strong side against us.

“Virgil van Dijk played, and Roberto Firmino and people like that, so I think that although some teams do it there has to be an understanding of why they have done it at that particular time.”