The Hatters travelled north this afternoon after training at The Brache, and the Welshman is looking forward to the tie up at Gateshead International Stadium having played there at the beginning of his career.

He said: "That's the beauty of the Emirates FA Cup, you come up against these sorts of sides. I played against Gateshead back in I think 1992. I don't think the ground has changed much, the conditions definitely won't have.

"But we are looking forward to it. It's a competition we want to do reasonably well in, we have realistic ambitions. So we aren't say we're going out to win it. Yes, we want to win every game we are involved in, but we understand the difficulties of a League Two side winning the FA Cup.

"It's a great opportunity to get to the third round, because we are in the second and we'd be competitive against any team left in the competition.

"It's a cup competition though, so Gateshead will be thinking the exact same way. It's a tricky tie in terms of location and they have good players. We've watched them, we've been very thorough in watching them. Yes, they've had mixed results, but results and form go out the window a little bit. They've got good players that can cause you problems."

The gaffer hopes to see his side reach the third round of the Emirates FA Cup for the second consecutive season, but he is well aware of the task his side face this weekend. Even then he admits you still aren't guaranteed a 'glamour tie', given the draw last season when the Hatters had to travel up to Sky Bet League Two rivals Accrington Stanley.

"The cliché is you only think of the game that you have," Jones continued.

"Providing you get through that – we'd like a real glamorous tie and one that gets everyone excited and so on.

"No disrespect to anyone, but that was shot firmly down when we had to go up to Accrington. Accrington are a good side, but it was just like another league game. We don't want 47 league games. We'd rather have 46 league games and a wonderful cup tie. That's the beauty of the FA Cup.

"We won't look to Monday, or Tuesday's game. We are firmly focused and that's been mirrored in the preparation we have done.

"The club have been fantastic, we travel up today, two days before, so that we don't have any hiccups tomorrow in terms of traffic or fatigue or anything. The club have backed me which I thank them for. We are treating it with the utmost respect, because if we don't then we will come unstuck."