THE FA Cup draw was another of those days for the club. I'm sure the chairman and everyone else in the boardroom was looking for that lucky number to solve all our problems, and you could almost hear the groans.

But on reflection, I think the mood is generally upbeat. It's all well and good drawing Manchester United and getting the money and enjoying the day.

But that's all it is - one day in the limelight. Playing at Old Trafford, Highbury, Anfield or Stamford Bridge would have been great, but it's a strange feeling walking out on the pitch knowing you are likely to get beat.

In this division that feeling is very rare, but at Old Trafford you wouldn't have that feeling.

At least with this draw, we still feel there is hope and the excitement is generated from a real feeling we can win.

Think back to last season and the feeling among all the fans and players after we had been beaten by Watford in the quarter finals.

I remember the mood on the coach home, with everyone thinking we had blown it and might not get a better chance in your career.

Suddenly, here we are again a year later and this might just be that better chance.

Two of Manchester United, Spurs and Manchester City are going out, Arsenal play Chelsea and Liverpool play Portsmouth.

It looks like its all splitting open again and if we can get through I'd lay odds on us getting another Tranmere or a Swansea.

If we got a rare home tie there, who knows?

Before then though, it's back to league action and the opportunity to get back to winning ways at Wigan

It's been a long time since the last one, against Sheffield United in early December and I certainly don't think anyone would have believed it if you'd said, coming off the pitch that day, that we'd have to wait another couple

of months for another win.

We've had games in between that we should have won and the position we are now in has put extra pressure on ourselves.

I said a few weeks ago that draws are not enough - and since then we've gone and drawn two!

I know the gaffer still wants eight wins, and I don't know if it will take quite that many.

All I know is you have to stay afloat above that relegation zone and try to win every game, whether it's against the top or bottom of the league.

Thankfully, the one thing we have improved on is cutting out the defensive mistakes. I'd like to think we've plugged that hole now and if we keep that going, rest assured we will be all right.