It's easy to see why they would have greater motivation

Lower league side, against a recent ex prem side, in front of their own fans and looking to create an upset.

I doubt our lot thought, "cor blimey, preston away in the fa cup third round, I'm well up for that!", especially during a busy Xmas period where the priority is to get back into the playoff zone, which could lead to a prem return and larger wage packets.

I'm not saying that mentality is justified, seeing as I've been one of the biggest advocates (on here) for a deep cup run over the past couple years, but I imagine the motivation levels were something akin to that.

Obviously that's why you need a great managerial motivator in those situations, although our cup record in recent years suggests that the problem goes way beyond that and is really just a symptom of the club not caring about cup competitions, from the board down.

Posted By: Common Sense Police, Jan 4, 11:44:50