Cup run can rescue any Premier League strugglers - as I know from my time at Stoke, writes Danny Higginbotham

If you harness the magic of the Cup, it can save you from relegation

Jonathan Walters (second right) is congratulated after scoring Stoke’s fourth goal in the 5-0 win over Bolton in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley in 2011 (Getty Images)

I know some managers at the bottom end of the Premier League are agonising over what team to put out in the FA Cup this weekend. But they need to realise that, if you harness the magic of the Cup, it can save you from relegation.

This is why those managers should be wary of the false choice between a Cup run and Premier League safety. Sometimes a Cup run is the best way to turn your season around, to find the momentum to keep you up.

I know this from personal experience at Stoke City. Back in March 2011 we had just been battered 3-0 at West Ham. We had lost five of our last seven, were just three points clear of the relegation zone, and heading in the wrong direction.

The next weekend, we had West Ham again, but in the FA Cup quarter-final. For once, there was no talk about the league situation beforehand, just that we were one game from Wembley. We won 2-1, and I scored the winning goal. Suddenly, the atmosphere was transformed. There was none of that endless chatter about a relegation dogfight or about six-pointers. None of that dispiriting training ground gossip every day. We were going to Wembley for the semi-final and we had a spring in our step.

And when a team is heading to Wembley, everyone’s performances pick up. All the players are so motivated to get in the team and stay there. Nobody wants to show up at Wembley in poor form or on the bench.

That is exactly what happened to us with Stoke. After beating West Ham in the Cup, we went on a ridiculous run in the league. We beat Newcastle 4-0, with our best performance of the season, one of our best displays in the Premier League up to that point. Then we played Chelsea at home, should have beaten them and drew 1-1.

So by the time we got to Wembley for the semi-final we were flying and we beat Bolton 5-0. Then we beat Wolves and Arsenal in the league and finished the season comfortably in mid-table.

This is what Premier League managers need to envisage when they pick their teams this weekend. Yes, the Cup is a distraction, but it can be a positive distraction. It can be the best way of forgetting the negativity, getting a result and turning your season around.

So I empathise with those managers wondering how to pick their teams this weekend. Sam Allardyce has made his position clear and, with all due respect, any Sunderland team he puts out is unlikely to win at Arsenal.

But Aston Villa should win at Wycombe, Bournemouth ought to win at Birmingham and Swansea should beat Oxford, no excuses. Newcastle could get a result at Watford. These teams cannot afford to discount what the Cup can do for them. They could get to March desperate for a pick-me-up, desperate for a catalyst.

Of course, there is the counter-example of Wigan Athletic, who went down while winning the FA Cup in 2013. But after their miracle escapes over the previous two seasons, reality was always going to catch up with them.

There is another problem with prioritising the league over the Cup, which is that it sends the wrong message to the squad. If the manager rotates because a Cup match matters less, he is giving the players an excuse, and there is always a danger that they will take it. If a manager says that he does not want to pick his top players because he does not want them to get injured, what does it tell the others? That they are expendable?

Upsets happen because the mentality is wrong. I was part of the Derby County team that lost 3-1 at home to Bristol Rovers in the third round in 2002. We were shocking, disgusting, and it was a problem of mentality, a lack of desire, commitment and focus.

There are plenty of big teams this weekend who will go into games fearing that they are an accident waiting to happen. The Bolton players will certainly not be looking forward to going to Eastleigh. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Whereas for Eastleigh this is going to be the game of their lives.

So, of course, I understand that not every Premier League team will be captivated by the magic of the FA Cup right now. This weekend is all about Eastleigh, Exeter, Scunthorpe and Dagenham & Redbridge. For the Premier League sides, the magic of the Cup will only kick in later, when they have Wembley in their sights. But for teams trying to stay in the Premier League, that hope could be precisely the lift that they need. They should not throw the opportunity away now.

Clubs representing England deserve fixture flexibility

I remember 16 years ago when I was not involved in the FA Cup, because I was in Brazil with Manchester United playing in the Club World Cup. I was 20 years old and delighted to be representing United in that competition, but it meant we had to pull out of the FA Cup. Looking back, I wonder if the FA could have been more flexible and found a way for United to fulfil their fixtures. United were out there representing English football, after all.

But then I think that the authorities have never been flexible enough when it comes to English teams playing in international competitions. Look at how difficult it is for teams who play in the Europa League, flying back on a Thursday night straight into difficult Premier League games on the Sunday. Tottenham had to play Chelsea on Sunday at noon, after arriving back from Baku at 5am on the Friday. You can imagine what Mauricio Pochettino made of that.

The Premier League should give them more leeway, either by providing them with an extra day’s rest, or ensuring that their game after a Thursday should always be at home. Most European leagues are more accommodating than we are, and they benefit from it.