FA Cup round-up: Extra prize money an added incentive as Yorkshire's lower-league clubs aim to progress

For Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers, Rotherham United and Bradford City, there is £65,000 on the line today.

Bradford City host Conference side Aldershot, who reached last season's third round, whilst the other three face League Two opposition. Barnsley are at leaders Port Vale, Doncaster make the long trip to Barrow and Rotherham host Cheltenham Town.

The prize for winning is £45,000 but as compensation for scrapping replays, the Football Association have added prize money for the losers too – £15,000 in the first round, £20,000 in the second.

Barnsley have already had one lucrative cup tie this season, earning a League Cup third-round tie at Manchester United on a night when 72,063 passed through the gate, so coach Darrell Clarke knows the value of progress in this competition.

“The FA Cup’s a healthy competition to bring some finances into the club and going further gets more money,” says Clarke, who has Adam Phillips back after an ankle injury. “We want to do well for the supporters always but also for the owner and everyone else.

“Football's a business as well, bills have got to be paid, wages have got to be paid, the manager always wants a healthy kitty. It all adds to it.

“The more money we can create with gate receipts, merchandise, cup runs, is less money the owner has to put in. It’s not cheap.”

His Rotherham counterpart, Steve Evans, has one eye on what beating the Robins could do for him in the January transfer window.

“We’ve identified where we need to strengthen,” he says. “It’s been an iffy start to the season yet here we are sitting six points off the play-offs with some major games away from home already out of the way.

“Every penny we gain from a cup run goes into the team. Not all League One clubs will have that benefit. We’re very fortunate that we have a wealthy owner who spends big money. We are really going to be active in January [regardless], we know that for sure.”

Some of the improvement Evans wants could come from within with Sean Raggett in contention to play after training all week and Jack Holmes in consideration to start. Evans says the fitness of Jonson Clarke-Harris and Shaun McWilliams is at 80 and 90 per cent respectively.

Doncaster’s much better start to their season in League Two and an empty treatment room mean Grant McCann does not have the same need in January, but it does not stop him being greedy. “It might give us a bit of leeway to be better in the second half of the season,” he says.

“I’m really happy with my squad but if I could add one or two in January with a wee bit of money from an FA Cup run, that would be great.

“First time I was here [as manager, in 2018-19], we had a really good run and got to the fifth round and I'd love something similar.”

Not that it is all about pounds, shilling and pence. “The build-up to it, it’s hard to describe the feeling,” says Bradford manager Graham Alexander, who picks from the same group as he did at home to Doncaster last week.

“It’s in everyone’s bones because we’ve all supported our own club growing up and everyone’s got something to do with the FA Cup,” he said. “It’s the oldest cup competition in the world and we’re lucky enough to participate in it and create good memories for everybody.

“It’s probably really deep in our psyche from our childhood and it’s still in there if you’re a football supporter.”