Alan Pardew and the F.A Cup go back a long way, having reached the Final as both a player and as a manager.

He has experienced every aspect of a traditional cup run, from a giant-killing potential in a non-league side, to coming within seconds of actually lifting the trophy in 1990 and 2006 respectively, so taking the competition seriously is a no-brainer for the Saints boss.

"On Friday night we will see what the F.A Cup is all about," he said ahead of the first round tie at Bristol Rovers. "It's one of those venues that creates a great atmosphere, and the travelling support that we'll take will certainly be in good voice, so it's going to be a cracking night.

"It's very important to us. It is a tough draw which, if I'm honest didn't get me too thrilled, so it will be tough, but we're Southampton Football Club and we expect to win every game, so we'll go there and look to win.

"I've always been lucky in this competition, right up to the point of holding the trophy until it just falls away from you on a couple of occasions, but I've had some great runs. It's an amazing stage and that's what I think a lot of those players will experience on Friday.

"This is slightly different because it's two teams from the same division and as a professional you want to go and have a pop at the heavyweights, but they are a couple of games away yet, however, that's what we want to do.

"It creates an opportunity to give some momentum with our fans, and to the club to keep our win ratio up, and progress in the cup to get a fantastic run where we find ourselves in an unfamiliar position. That's what you want to do in the cup.

"All of the cups are a priority for me personally, and so is the league programme," he added. "It's a tournament that we're in, so we should try to win it. I think that attitude has not always been the case at a number of clubs, not just Southampton, but certainly while I'm here, we'll try and win everything that we enter."

"They're a good team. They're a unit with a good manager, so it will be a tough agenda for us.

"I feel that our players can go there and give a performance which is worthy of the jersey, we've done that over the last couple of months and I don't expect that to change. We've got a good side and we can go up against anybody on our day."

Saints arrive at Bristol in good form but the manager says that the hard work begins now.

"It is a big month coming up because there are a lot of games," he explained. "They're the games where it's important that we establish ourselves as a strong side which is something we've started to suggest.

"There's suggesting and backing that up, and they're two different things. When we arrive at mid-January I want to be in a stronger position than we are at the moment.

"We've trained well this week though and we go to Bristol Rovers with a strong team. Neal Trotman and Jacob Mellis are ineligible to play so they're not involved, but everyone else is fit and well."

The night will be a special one for Rickie Lambert, Pardew's most expensive signing so far at Saints, and he feels that this will be a game where both sets of supporters truly appreciate what the number seven is all about.

"The signs I'm seeing are that he is a player which is undervalued and underappreciated from outside. Certainly Southampton fans don't under appreciate him and nor do Bristol Rovers fans because we both know him, but he's a very, very good player.

"He was a brilliant servant for Rovers and they accepted a fee from us for him to join, that money will be used to build a side and a stadium to some extent, so I hope he is given a good reception. He's a brilliant player, I think he's the best player in the division, and he's proving that at the moment."