A THIRD round FA Cup clash with Manchester United could be worth at least £150,000 to Accrington Stanley, according to the club’s former managing director.

Rob Heys was in charge of the club’s finances during a cup run that helped pay for the Reds to go professional 11 years ago.

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But a date with one of the biggest clubs in the world would dwarf that run to the third round when Stanley were still in the Conference.

The financial incentive will be of little interest to the players as they prepare for next Tuesday’s second replay with Yeovil at Huish Park, but Heys, still a Stanley fan, said the club would reap the rewards if they could get past the Glovers.

“Everyone at the club will be saying the focus is on the Yeovil game, which it has to be, but you would be lying if you said you weren’t excited about what is possibly to come,” said Heys, who left the club in August 2013.

“I remember when we had a cup run in our non league days in the 2003/04 season. We played Huddersfield and Bournemouth and beat them both and both games were on TV.

“I think that run brought in around £250,000, money which we wouldn’t have had otherwise, and it allowed us to go professional and a couple of years later we were back in the Football League.

“Without that cup run Stanley probably wouldn’t have been back in the league so soon and might not be where they are now, so it shows how important it is.”

If Stanley can beat Yeovil they would receive £27,000 in prize money, but Heys reckons they could be in for a bumper payday if United visit the Store First Stadium.

Should the tie be shown live on TV the club would get £144,000 from the broadcasters, while gate receipts would yield around £25,000 for each club. Additional income such as advertising sales and shirt sales ahead of the game should bring in another £25,000 at least.

But for the bean counters the greatest victory would be a draw and a replay at Old Trafford, which would boost the coffers by over £500,000 in gate receipts.

“It’s always on a knife edge at Accrington, and probably most clubs at that level,” said Heys. “You never have money in the bank, if you’ve got £10,000 sitting there you try and spend it to improve the squad.

“The dilemma is if it is 1-1 in injury time, do you go for the winner or take the replay? A replay at Old Trafford would be even bigger for the club.

“It’s not just the money though, the build-up to the Yeovil game, and if they get through then the build-up to the United game will raise the club’s profile.”

“You can use some of the money to strengthen the squad, but you can also invest it in training facilities or the ground, on revenue generating facilities and you will still be getting the benefits for years to come.

“Most importantly though if they get through everybody at the club has to enjoy it. It will be a busy time, Christmas will be cancelled, but something like this comes around once every 20 years for a club like Stanley.”