Blues boss Paul Hurst says cup competitions will be taken seriously during his time in charge at Portman Road.
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview on Mark Murphy’s BBC Radio Suffolk breakfast show this morning, which can be heard in full here, Hurst said his record with his previous sides should be taken as an indication of his approach, Shrewsbury having been losing finalists in the Checkatrade Trophy last season.
Fans were hugely critical of former boss Mick McCarthy’s attitude towards the cups with the Blues not winning a single FA Cup tie during his five and a half years in charge, while he was widely criticised for making 11 changes and fielding what was almost wholly a second string side for the September 2015 League Cup game at Manchester United.
Town’s last FA Cup victory was the 2-1 third round win at Blackpool back in January 2010 during Roy Keane’s time as manager.
"I think my history at other clubs suggests that I do take cup competitions seriously and I don’t see anything changing,” Hurst said.
"People talk about the Championship being this relentless league and yes it is, but at the same time my club last year played 62 games, perhaps more than any other club in the country.
"I think that suggests how I feel about things and I’d like to get as far in the cup competitions as possible.”
He added: "I think you can go a long way. There have been enough teams in recent years that have perhaps surprised some people. With a lot of clubs perhaps not taking the competitions as seriously, I see it as an opportunity.
"Again, I can’t promise it, we’ve got Exeter [in the Carabao Cup], for instance, they’ll be doing everything they can to do everything they can to cause an upset. A nice short journey for us, but we will be going there trying to win the game.”
However, that doesn’t mean he might not tweak his starting XIs for cup games: "I’m not going to promise that the team won’t be changed because what I want is to try and have a team which is capable of changing.
"I think gone are the days where too many players play 50 games, 55 games or whatever. But at the same time every time I put a team out on the football pitch it will be very much with the thought that they can win that game of football.
"That’s what I’ll be looking to do. I don’t like losing games, I didn’t like losing at Braintree as much as results don’t matter in pre-season in some respects. I was glad we didn’t lose any points, but I wasn’t happy about it.
"If you heard any interviews or comments you probably understood that. I don’t like losing.”
The South Yorkshireman says he already feels at home at Portman Road and in Suffolk: "I’m settling in very well, I feel very welcomed from everyone at the football club and the area, if I’m honest, everyone I’ve come into contact with and it does feel like I’ve been here a lot longer than I have. In a good way, I better add that!”