Max's Dream

MAXIME Blanchard has dreams of Argyle being drawn against a top-flight side, should the club progress in their FA Cup with Budweiser second-round tie against Welling on Saturday.

The Frenchman has it clear in his mind which teams in particular he would like to face if Argyle are one of the balls in the hat for Sunday’s third round draw.

“Arsenal or Liverpool; one of these two,” he said.

“Arsenal, obviously because of all the French influence, and Liverpool, because I do like the place and I like the atmosphere around the club.”

Now in his fourth season in English football, Maxime only has a handful of FA Cup appearances to his name, but thinks the competition can provide a nice break from the normal league environment.

He said: “It’s always good;  it’s exciting, and you always think, if you win this game, you can play against a very big team.

“When you’re under pressure in the league, it’s sometimes good to have a little FA Cup game. This isn’t the case at the minute, but sometimes it’s very good just to breathe different air.”

Although Blanchard is dreaming of lining up at Anfield or the Emirates in the near future, the defender is aware there is work to be done to have that chance, after elimination to non-league opponents in the competition for the last two years.

“It could be a double reward really,” he said. “Obviously it’s a good thing to go to the third round and try to play against a good team, try to do something, and try to be on the front page of the papers for the right reasons.

“But they’re hard games, it’s not easy. Nowadays we see more of that, more upsets like that. This is what the cup is all about, just winning.”

Supporters are reminded to retain their tickets stubs from the Welling match, and all FA Cup games this season, so that, in the event of a future tie being potentially oversubscribed, holders will be given second-tier priority – after Members – for tickets for that fixture.