Cardiff City v Leeds United: Horrible histories spurring on Jesse Marsch

So when the two come together in South Wales on Sunday, the American is under orders from above to set both records straight.

"Angus (Kinnear, Leeds' chief executive) subtly spoke to me last week and said maybe we should focus on having a good FA Cup run," revealed Marsch. "I said 'message received.’"

The Whites' FA Cup third-round defeat at Cardiff 21 years ago last Friday marked the beginning of the end for David O'Leary's successful team.

Fourth in the league and Champions League semi-finalists in 2000-01, they were top of the table on New Year's Day 2002 but Cardiff's come-from-behind victory was the first of 10 matches without a win, a sequence which included a UEFA Cup exit at the hands of PSV Eindhoven.

They finished fifth that season, 15th the year after and were relegated in 2003-04. Only now are they precariously rebuilding. Mention of either Cardiff or the Cup has sent shivers down the spine ever since.

In the 20 subsequent campaigns they have won just 12 matches in the competitions, despite entering at the first round stage three times. Incredibly, the last time they won an FA Cup was at Cambridge United in 2017, and even then Sutton United knocked them out three weeks later.

It is 51 years since Leeds or any Yorkshire team lifted the FA Cup.

Laying the Cardiff ghost has been no easier. In 22 meetings after that day, Leeds have won just three.

"I have heard a little bit about the recent history of some of the matches," says Marsch, though he was unaware of the gruesome head-to-head record.

"I've heard about the history between Cardiff and Leeds.

"Leeds won this tournament with Don Revie (in 1972) so it's kind of in the blood of the club still and we want to make sure we represent ourselves in a big way down in Cardiff.

"When we got the draw, we weren't happy because we thought this will be very difficult. Our mindset is to prepare for a very important match in a good way and make sure the group we put on the pitch represents exactly what we want to be.

"It means a lot that our fans are going down there (with over 6,000 expected) and that we want to put a good team on the pitch."

That last comment is typical from a manager in a pre-FA Cup press conference, only to send a distinctly weak side out, so Leeds fans will have to hope Kinnear's quiet word hit home.

Sunday is apparently too soon for Patrick Bamford, Adam Forshaw and Luis Sinisterra, and Marsch would say no more than he had "a lot of guys we're hopeful we can turn around but a lot of little issues".

Although Marsch dismissed Leeds' chances of ending the 51-year drought in 2023, the FA Cup debutant insists he gets what it is all about.

"The FA Cup final is a big thing in the US too so even before I was a professional and when I was professional a lot of people get up early on Saturday mornings to go to pubs in the US and watch the FA Cup final, so it's a big thing, so the opportunity to compete in it..." says Marsch.

"The US Open Cup I won as a player four or five times and I always valued the cup matches as a chance to win a tournament, win a trophy.

"Talking about raising trophies right now, we're not at that stage as a club, but you don't do this without that kind of focus in mind. We're continuing to try to build a process here that's about improvement, week by week, year by year.

"The importance of winning cups depends on your status as a club I think.

"For me, I guess because I've won a lot of trophies, that means a lot to me.

"Managing this club and where we are, is a little bit different experience for me because I've been mostly with teams that are on the top side competing for titles, which then changes the mindset of even how you manage.

"I'm just trying to continue to create a mentality mindset here that's not just about survival, that's about building, that's about a process. But the pressures of this league and where we are as a team mean that that's one of the hardest things to do is to relieve that, leave the idea of looking at the table every day.

"Trying to stay in the moment is probably the most important thing and maybe the hardest thing for all of us to do on a daily basis and I think the more that we can actually execute that and stick to a plan and focus on development, I think the better that we can control results and trying to convey that is is really important for me.

"I have been on sort of different ends of what a cup match can be, David and Goliath as player and manager, and I think it's really important to understand that.

"We have to expect the best out of Cardiff."

Meanwhile, Stuart Dallas has had a third operation on his broken leg after he picked up an infection during the second, to clear out his knee.