There is absolutely no chance of Town underestimating opponents Oldham Athletic in tomorrow evening’s FA Cup first round replay at Boundary Park, insists likely starter Conor Chaplin.
The diminutive forward featured against the Latics in the first game at Portman Road 10 days ago and confessed: "I was really impressed with them and I thought they played really well. They pressed really well at times and in possession they were very good, very composed. They had a plan, they stuck to it and they looked good.
"I think we’re going to have our work cut out going up to their place. We’re not expecting anything less than a very tough game.”
It is one of football’s well-worn clichés, when talking about players’ individual merits, to question whether they have the character to cope with cold, wet and windy northern outposts like Boundary Park, which ex-Town boss Joe Royle famously nicknamed Ice Station Zebra after his spell as Oldham manager.
Chaplin added: "It’s just another game, another opportunity for people to prove something, to stake a claim and show why they should be playing more regularly.
"But we also have to remember what it’s all about and that’s getting this club through to the next round of the FA Cup. It could be a case of having to pull our sleeves up but it depends how the game goes.
"Knowing the winners will be at home to Barrow is an incentive for both sides, don’t forget. It’s the same for Oldham and they’ll be thinking along exactly the same lines.
"They’ll be fancying themselves against Barrow at home and then pulling out one of the top Premier League clubs for a glamour tie.
"It’s a cup competition so you obviously want a home draw. It’s a carrot for both teams and we just have to make sure we take care of business at Oldham and not too far ahead of ourselves.”
If a penalty shootout is required to settle the tie, as was the case at Portman Road a week ago in the Papa John’s Trophy clash with Colchester when Chaplin converted his spot-kick and Town edged their way into the knockout stages with a 4-3 success, expect Chaplin to be well to the fore.
He explained: "Throughout my career, no matter where I’ve been playing, I’ve always got involved in penalty shootouts and I’ll continue to do that going forward.
"We have a good squad for that — technical players, plenty of experience — and I think you saw that last week when we got through.”
Chaplin also has happy memories of being a small part of Portsmouth’s success in the FA Cup, winning the famous trophy in 2008 and being beaten finalists in 2010 when Chelsea won it.
He was in the Pompey academy at the time and recalled: "It was a really special time. I would have been about 10 when they won it and I didn’t get a ticket. It was really hard to get tickets so I wasn’t at the final. A couple of the lads I played alongside did manage to get them but I wasn’t lucky enough.
"Within the city and the surrounding area it was incredible the way the occasion, and then the celebrations afterwards, brought the place together.
"It was similar a couple of years later for the final but not to the same extent because of the result. They’re distant memories but very happy ones.”
Chaplin was in the Barnsley team that reached the fifth round last season. After home wins over Tranmere and Norwich the Tykes were eventually eliminated by Chelsea, for whom the only goal was scored by Tammy Abraham midway through the second half.
"Chelsea at home was a really good draw and we did really well against them,” he recalled. "Probably, on another night and with a bit of luck going our way, we could have been leading by one, maybe even two, goals. It was a gutting experience to go out.
"I don’t really believe the FA Cup should be regarded as a distraction to what you are looking to achieve in the league. I believe winning is a positive that can be a culture for a football club and that winning breeds confidence.
"That’s what we need to bring to Ipswich and getting through to the next round of the FA Cup could be an important step along the way, which is why we’ll be trying our hardest to get the right result at Oldham.”
Meanwhile, Chaplin also talked about the way the Town squad has successfully bonded after a hectic summer of transfer activity that saw 19 new players recruited and even more depart for pastures new.
He said: "It’s slightly surprising how quickly we have bonded when you consider how we, or at least the majority of us, were all new to the club in the summer. On the flip side, I have never been part of anything like that before, but it has probably helped that we were all in the same boat.
"We were living in hotels and trying to find houses, so we were spending an awful lot of time together off the pitch and maybe we wouldn’t have done that if we were all settled in the area and living in our own houses.
"We were often out together, eating together and spending time with each other, and that has probably helped us all to be honest. Also, we’re all here for the same reason so we share the same goal, which is to get promoted.”
Fans would have noticed how Chaplin and Scott Fraser, both substitutes on the night, were quick to join in the goal celebrations during Town’s impressive 4-1 win at Wycombe a fortnight ago.
Chaplin added: "In terms of celebrating goals that won’t change because we’re all in it together and we get behind the team regardless of whether we’re actually in it or sat on the bench waiting for a chance.
"We’re all human beings but we’re all different, we have different personalities and characters, and some of us take longer to come out of our shells. We’re starting to see the group dynamics — the leaders, the characters, the lads who would rather be left by themselves and things like that.
"But that will be the same in any group of players at any football club, in fact any group of people and not just within football. We’re learning quickly about each other and hopefully people can see that is the case on the pitch as well.”