THE FA Cup will always have a special place in my heart. I went to the final with Leicester in 1969 and despite losing to Manchester City it was still a memorable day.

I can remember saying at the time that's it's a must occasion for any professional footballer and from start to finish it's a wonderful event.

From going down to your HQ on the Friday night to playing the game, it's a terrific occasion.

And last year Burnley had two good cup runs and I hope we can do the same again in the FA Cup this season.

Realistically, we haven't got a chance of winning the competition but from a financial point of view the more rounds we can get through the more money we can make.

Last year, we made a fair bit from playing Rovers so if we can beat Derby and get a big fish that would be a great bonus.

The Derby game in itself isn't a great tie for us. It's a difficult game because Derby are a fair side and there's not a lot of money to be made.

But if we can get them back to the Turf for a replay then that will generate a bit of extra cash.

And money's what Steve Cotterill needs if he's going to strengthen the squad for the big push for the play-offs.

I've had Sky Sports News switched on practically all day for the last few days in the hope I'd see Burnley's name crop up for signing a new player but it hasn't happened yet.

But I'm hoping that by early next week he'll have a new face on board.

We definitely need one or two players and a striker would be the top of my list. We need someone to play alongside Ade Akinbiyi and take the burden of goal-scoring off his shoulders.

And I think the board have a duty to the manager, players and fans to back him all the way.

I would imagine Steve will go to the directors with a list of players he wants and as long as it's not silly money then they should back him.

The position Burnley are in is too good to waste and it's so tight in the Championship that a couple of dodgy results can see you slide down the table.

So a stronger and bigger squad will help us get into the top six at the end of the season.

We need to show everyone that Burnley are a forward thinking club and if they want to get the punters in then nothing would excite people more than a promotion battle.