Dickov vows Oldham will attack Reds

A second-round replay victory over Southend at Boundary Park in December booked a mouth-watering trip to face Kenny Dalglish’s side for the Latics, who currently lie 14th in npower League One.

Only veteran striker Shefki Kuqi has played at Anfield before among Dickov’s largely youthful squad and, while acknowledging the magnitude of the task, the ex-Manchester City forward is determined that his players enjoy the tie.

“I’m not going to say we’re going to go to Anfield and win – I think I’d probably get taken away in a straightjacket – but the one thing we are going to do is go there and have a right good go,” said the Scot. “People are saying you’ve got to go there and play five at the back or five in midfield but we don’t want to change too much. We’re trying to keep it as normal as we can.

“As to how the players will react, we won’t know until eight o’clock but the one thing we’re just trying to say to them is go and enjoy the occasion by doing the right things. I’ve been lucky enough to play in big games over my career at big stadiums and at Wembley. You can get carried away with the occasion and, before you know it, the game’s finished. I want all my players to remember every single minute of the game.”

In August, Oldham began their 15th consecutive season in the Football League’s third tier – the longest tenure of any side in the division – but a pair of famous cup occasions in the past decade have allowed supporters to hark back to the club’s early 1990s heyday in the top flight. On their previous third-round trip to Merseyside, Gary McDonald’s goal sank Everton 1-0 in 2008, three years after Manchester City fell foul of the Latics at the same stage.

More than 6,000 supporters will make the short journey along the M62 dreaming of a repeat, with Liverpool’s recent history of cup mishaps at the hands of Barnsley, Reading and Northampton providing further encouragement.

“We know that, economically, times have been hard for the town and the fans, and the support we’re getting is quite humbling for myself and the players,” said Dickov, who is expected to name former Aberdeen centre-half Zander Diamond, ex-Dundee United and Hamilton player James Wesolowski and former Hibs, St Johnstone and Inverness winger Filipe Morais in his starting XI. “Tomorrow night is a big thank-you to the fans, but that’s not to say we’re going there to make up the numbers.”

And, straightjacket or otherwise, Dickov admits he has already cast his mind’s eye towards the improbable. “I do dream, I just hope it’s not a nightmare,” he said.

“I’d be daft to say that I’m not thinking about going there and winning and what would happen. Every round in the FA Cup there’s a shock. Win, lose or draw I want my players to do themselves proud.”