Chris Perry is keenly anticipating the visit of former club Luton Town to St. Mary's in the F.A Cup this weekend.

The vastly experienced defender is well rehearsed in how to prepare for cup battles and knows exactly what the Hatters will be planning.

"We're there to be shot at," he acknowledged. "We're the big favourite and they're the underdog, the F.A Cup has a great history of the underdog upsetting the odds so that's what we've got to guard against on Saturday.

"I'm looking forward to it. I had a year at Luton which was a turbulent one, but I had some enjoyable moments there. It was a very sad time because the club went into administration and then there were further penalties on top of that. However, last season I felt they showed great dignity in the way they handled the 30 point deduction and they won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy too which was a great achievement. They're doing OK in the Conference this season as well so I wish them all the best for the future.

"It's odd to see Luton as a non-league club but I'm sure that in the very near future they will find their way back into the Football League and stay there.

"Every game is important to us and in every competition we've gone into, we've tried to do our best, we're trying to win the Johnstone's Paint Trophy which we're still in, and we want to go as far as we can in the F.A Cup so that means we've got to go out there at our best against Luton, otherwise an upset could happen."

Perry has been involved in lengthy cup runs at Wimbledon and Tottenham Hotspur in particular where he helped those two clubs to the semi finals of the competition, and believes that the spirit of the F.A Cup is still very much alive.

"Shocks do still happen, like Northwich Victoria beating Charlton in the second round and that's the magic of it. It's still the most loved cup competition in the world and I know Radhi Jaidi was explaining to Papa Waigo N'diaye here about how important the cup is in this country.

"I don't honestly think that we will win the F.A Cup, but it would be nice to get into the fourth round and get a favourable draw because you never know how far you can go, Millwall got to the Final a few years ago from the Championship so it is possible. The further you go, the more revenue you create and we need to carry on winning games because the more games you win the more confidence we'll get.

"I've lost in the semi finals which is the worst feeling ever so I've not got really, really fond memories, but I have been on some good cup runs and I've been fortunate to have been a part of them."

The centre back is likely to keep his place in the side as he continues to give his all for the club and although time isn't on his side, he feels that he still has plenty to offer for at least another season yet as 2010 gets underway.

"I understand that we've got a good squad of players here and at the age of 36 I'm maybe not going to play in every game, so it's all about being ready to come in when you get that opportunity. Over the last six or seven games in the last ten I feel that I've done well and that's because I'm mentally ready to come in and I know what I have to do.

"Physically I feel completely fine. To be honest I think that centre back is perhaps the easiest position to play in because it's not as physically demanding as some of the others. At the moment I'm enjoying it, I feel good and I hope to play on for as long as I can. I'm not sure exactly how long that's going to be, but I definitely feel that I've got something to offer next season.

"When Luton got to the stage where they were looking to offload some of the higher wage earners I got a chance to come here. I jumped at it as it was a higher league and somewhere where I felt that I could make a contribution. I've loved it ever since."