Shrewsbury Town's Rob Purdie predicted FA Cup tie with Hereford United (From Hereford Times)

Shrewsbury Town's Rob Purdie predicted FA Cup tie with Hereford United

10:00am Friday 26th October 2012 in Sport By Paul Rogers

FORMER Hereford United player Rob Purdie thought his Shrewsbury Town side would face the Bulls in the FA Cup even before the draw was made.

The two rivals will meet in a mouth-watering first-round tie at Edgar Street on Saturday, November 3.

“It is a good draw for both teams, although it’s not the best one for the police,” said Purdie.

“Four games before the tie came out I knew that Hereford would be the team that we would get.

“It is something for the fans to look forward to and gives both teams a bit of revenue, much needed in Hereford’s case.

“It’s a local derby and anything can happen, especially as it’s the FA Cup. “I’ve spoken to some of the lads here who played at Hereford about the game, but generally we haven’t talked about it at the club as yet.

“We have got Colchester United on Saturday, but then after that we will prepare for Hereford. We know that Hereford will be ready for it and, in Martin Foyle, they have got a manager who will be up for the challenge.”

Purdie has seen the Bulls four times this season, including the away game at Newport and the last home game against Braintree and was saddened to hear about the financial problems that the Edgar Street club are currently facing.

“I think that last season there were a few rumours about it, but when you see words like administration being used, it is really bad to hear, especially when the club was in a quite healthy position when Graham Turner left and there was a bit of money in the bank,” said Purdie.

“It is never nice to see a team struggling, but I think that budgeting for attendances of 2,400 was a bit optimistic.

“If they are at the top challenging, they could get 3,000, but they have had two bleak seasons, so I would say that about 1,800 to 1,900 for each game would be more realistic.

“They started off well this season, but have lost their way a little bit and I think it is going to be a two to three-year plan to rebuild the club.”

Purdie is currently out of favour at Shrewsbury having lost his place in the team, but is hopeful that he will feature against his former employers at Edgar Street.

“It’s been a bit of a hit and miss season and we probably deserve more points than we have got, but I would like to play against Hereford,” he said.

“I knew the management here really well and it didn’t feel like I was going to a new club, with having played with about six or seven of the players.

“Ryan Bowman looks a good player for Hereford and Watkins looked dangerous when I saw him at Newport, so it’ll be a tough game.”