Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth is looking forward to his side’s FA Cup battle against Hartlepool United on Saturday afternoon.

The Chairboys travel up to County Durham to face the North East side for the first time in the competition’s history, off the back of a 4-1 home loss against Ipswich and a 3-3 draw away at struggling Fleetwood Town in the league.

But he hopes a distraction from their league endeavours will put Wanderers back on track after a couple of disappointing results.

Ainsworth said: “Saturday is a different type of challenge but one we’re looking forward to.

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“The FA Cup means a lot to this club, and to me, and we know just how special a competition it can be.

“Any cup game gives you the chance to dream about playing against some of the best teams in the country, at the best grounds in the country, and enjoying those adventures together as a club."

Hartlepool have enjoyed their return to the EFL following their promotion in the summer, as they are currently in 10th place in League Two.

However, within the last week, they were thrashed at Leyton Orient 5-0 and have had their manager, Dave Challinor, leave to join Stockport County – a Non League side.

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And with the Pools only winning four of their 16 matches against Wycombe, with 10 of those fixtures being wins for the latter, it will be make Saturday’s match at Victoria Park very interesting indeed.

He continued: “We’ve had some good battles with Hartlepool down the years and it’s great to see them back in the EFL.

"They’re a bit of an unknown quantity because of their change of manager recently, but we’ll be doing our homework as usual and going there looking to get back to winning ways and progressing to the second round.

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“I’ll never be one to underestimate the FA Cup or say it doesn’t matter because it’s a great competition and we’re a club that wants to win every time we cross the white line.

“I know it’s another long trip for our fans and hopefully we can put on a performance, get the win and then look forward to the second-round draw and the home games that we’ve got coming up.”