Bradford v Bury: Bantams aiming to cash in on Cup

JULIAN RHODES admits progress tonight for Bradford City in the FA Cup would bring huge benefits both on and off the pitch with a potential fourth-round tie against Hull City set to earn the club a cash windfall of around Â£200,000.

The Bantams host Bury in a third-round replay after the two League One clubs could not be separated in a goalless first meeting at Gigg Lane 10 days ago.

Steve Bruce’s Tigers await the winners in the next round and Rhodes admits the prospect of taking on the Championship promotion hopefuls in an all-Yorkshire encounter is a big incentive.

So, too, is the desire to give the Bantams’ own league campaign a boost after a recent stutter, according to the club’s joint-chairman.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, Rhodes said last night: “Bury will be a tough game. They are a very good side and will, I am sure, fancy their own chances of getting through.

“But, speaking from our own perspective, this is a big game. Victory would give the entire club a boost at an important stage in the season.

“In financial terms, getting through against Bury would probably be worth around £200,000 in additional income.

“I think I said to The Yorkshire Post ahead of the Millwall replay a year ago that getting to Chelsea would be worth just over double that so this is an amount that is not to be sneezed at.

“Of course, we went on to earn much more than that £450,000 we got from gate receipts at Stamford Bridge and that shows what the FA Cup can do to a club like us.

“Thanks to the money we earned last season, we were able to plough additional funds into this year’s budget. That is how we work as a club.

“Before the season, we budgeted to bring in around £200,000 from the cups and, even if we go out against Bury, we will have just about reached that amount.