htafc.com talked to Town boss Stan Ternent ahead of Wednesday night's Carling Cup game against Sheffield United and he explained that he expects a much-improved performance from his side.

The Cup game comes only four days after his team's first competitive defeat against MK Dons at the weekend and Stan told us that the game cannot come quickly enough.

"I'm glad we've got the game so soon; actually, I'll tell you whether it's a good thing at around half past nine tomorrow night!" Stan quipped.

"We wanted to be in the next round of the Cup and we wanted a home draw, so now it's up to us to perform. It gives us another chance to perform better than we have been doing.

"It's good to be playing against a side from a higher division to test ourselves. It's good for the fans and it's good for the Club - good for everyone concerned.

"We can play a lot better than we have been doing, there's no question about that. We have to do that."

Thanks to the unavailability of certain players, the Gaffer explained that there will be changes to the starting eleven for the visit of the Blades (kick-off 7.45pm).

"Tomorrow night there will be some players who can't play because they are either cup tied or injured. That will give someone else a chance to stake a claim and there are some of the lads who haven't been given a crack yet; tomorrow night that will change. I have no doubt that we will put in a better performance tomorrow.

"(Andy) Butler took a knock on Saturday and was in the hospital until 11pm that evening as they were worried about the possibility of internal bleeding after he got kneed in the lower mid-section. It turns out that he is ok, but he won't be fit to play tomorrow night. Boothy won't be fit to play either as he has had a reaction in his lower back. James Berrett is unavailable as he has hurt his ankle.

"Liam (Dickinson) can't play at the behest of Derby County and (Ian) Craney is cup-tied having played for Accrington in round one. That means there will be at least four changes, but we still have a decent enough squad to play well tomorrow and hopefully get through."

United, who are managed by former Town goalkeeper Kevin Blackwell, made several changes to their regular starting eleven for their first round tie against Port Vale; does the uncertainty surrounding their starting eleven make it harder for Ternent to prepare his side?

"Not really, other than who will pick up who on set-plays. Sides from higher divisions generally give other players a go during Cup games - I did it myself during my time at Burnley - but whether or not Kevin will do that tomorrow remains to be seen. I think he probably will as the League will be his priority as well.

"It's a good game for us and it should be a big crowd with it being a derby match. We're looking forward to it, because losing on Saturday puts a dampener on things. It's the first competitive match we have lost during my time at the Club and a good performance could get it out of the system.

"We would have preferred to be playing tonight (Tuesday), but that decision was out of our hands and we just have to get on with it. The lads will be in again on Thursday and will travel down to London early Friday morning."

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