'If you're outside the top six, you can never target an FA Cup run'

"The Premier League now overrides the fixture schedule, and I'm afraid the importance of the FA Cup has diminished somewhat because of that, especially when your club's top-flight status and entire financial footing is at stake. Like most things in life today, money talks and the Premier League without doubt now does most of the talking. With three European league competitions as well, and the number of games and teams involved there, the FA Cup has fallen even further down the pecking order."

"The group needed a rest and I believed the players who had been out of the team would have a point to prove - but we lost 2-0 and I took some criticism from the press for the changes. I still felt justified for doing what I did. My over-riding objective was to remain a Premier League club because it was imperative for our"

Managers view the FA Cup as still prestigious but less prioritized due to Premier League scheduling, financial stakes, and the burden of additional European competitions. Top-flight survival and revenue imperatives compel clubs to rest players during the third round, often leading to squad rotation or wholesale changes. Such rotations can create chances for lower-league clubs to cause upsets, but they also attract criticism when results suffer. A 2008 example saw Stoke rotate heavily for a third-round tie at Hartlepool, lose 2-0, and accept press criticism while maintaining Premier League survival as the overriding objective.

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