YOU could almost taste the tension in the air at a packed Bury FC Social Club on Saturday afternoon writes Phil Thorp

The draw for the third round of the Worthington Cup was being made and with four balls remaining neither Bury nor Manchester United had been drawn out.

When Fergie's lads were drawn at home everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath, willing for the next ball to be Bury's number seven. . . only for Leicester City to land the plum tie!

Disappointment was there for all to see when subsequently Fulham were handed a home clash against the Shakers who were last out of the bag just as they were in the LDV Vans draw two weeks ago.

Superb

Okay, so the Cottagers, bankrolled by multimillionaire Harrods owner Mohammed Al Fayed, have some superb players in their squad but it was hardly the moneyspinning tie everyone at Gigg was hoping for.

While their Craven Cottage ground is being overhauled Jean Tigana's side are playing their home games at QPR's Loftus Road ground, and that fact, plus the increased cost of watching Premiership and EUFA Cup soccer has hit their gates hard.

Only 16,503 turned out to watch them take on their closest rivals Chelsea a couple of weeks ago so the Shakers may have to win through to another round for their massive payday.

"It wasn't the best draw we could have had," said joint chairman John Smith.

It was a view echoed by his co-chairman Fred Mason who jokingly added: "Can we afford to go there?

"It wasn't exactly the game we were hoping for, was it?"

But it's the game the Shakers have got and as far as the fans are concerned all roads will lead to Shepherds Bush on Wednesday, November 6, hoping for a second Premiership scalp.

Fulham entertain champions Arsenal on the Saturday preceding the Bury game and have a tough match at Aston Villa the following weekend so whether Tigana will field a combination of fringe and youth players remains to be seen.

One thing's for sure, the shrewd French will have noted the ease in which Andy Preece's men disposed of another weakened Premiership side in the previous round.

Preece refused to get overexited about Saturday's draw and admitted his thoughts are on the bread and butter games coming up.

"I honestly wasn't bothered who we got and was more interested in picking up the three points," he said.

"Obviously it's a great draw, away at a Premiership club, but I was so disappointed with Saturday's result my thoughts will be on all the games we have to play before we go down there.

"We have to find something inside us to turn our league performances into wins.

"We had all the possession and chances but we must be more ruthless, we needed the second goal to give us some breathing space.

"It will be a busy week on the training ground trying to cut out the goals."