Upbeat Town boss Richard Money is hoping his side can continue their fine form in the FA Cup when they visit League 1 Southampton on Saturday.

Superb victories of League 2 high-flyers Rochdale and Rotherham have earned the Hatters a third round date at St. Mary's.

And fresh from a 4-1 win over Eastbourne Borough that blew away a few cobwebs after 16 days without a game, Money is confident the Town can go to the SouthCoast and put on a good show.

"Monday's result was important," he said at his pre-match press conference on New Year's Eve. "It wasn'tthe greatest of performances - it was a bit bitty and scratchy at times - but we needed the game and it will put us on the right course for Southampton.

"We'll go there and approach the game like we do every game. We know the dangermen within their squad but we knew we'd come up against so-called 'dangermen' when we played Rochdale and Rotherham.

"I've seen Southampton and they are a very, very good team. They play football which hopefully will suit us.

"They have had a points deduction but I fully expected them to be in the play-offs at the end of the season and could well be a Championship side come the end of the campaign."

The Hatters are one of four clubs flying the flag for the Blue Square Premier on third round day with Barrow, Forest Green and York also in action away from home at Sunderland, NottsCounty and Stoke respectively.

With that in mind the Money turned his attention to the potential of the Town pulling off a cup shock.

"There will be a shock or two on Saturday," he said. "We've got to give it a good go and hopefully it will be us - but it will be tough.

"But we've been underdogs twice already in this competition and played well on all four occasions and it's up to us to do it again.

"It's a day everyone looks forward too, it's an exciting weekend in the calendar but I will only enjoy it if we play well.

"If we play well and give them a good game I will.

"One thing for sure is that it's going to be a great occasion. The away end will be full, we will take supporters in big numbers, there will be a good crowd and a electric atmosphere.

"The supporters deserve a day like this."

On the selection front, with Matthew Barnes-Homer cup-tied, Ryan Charles has been recalled from Kidderminster, but the striker picked up a knee injury in his first training session back so is doubtful for Saturday.

Lewis Emanuel will have an operation on his toe on Monday while Liam Hatch and Mark Tyler remain sidelined with the goalkeeper hoping to return to light training next week.

On the loan front Ashley Cain has returned to Coventry while defender George Beavan is back at Kenilworth Road after spending the first half of the season with Grays Athletic.