Hereford old boy Rob Purdie is bullish over Town hopes

The 31-year old player only ended his two-year stint with Hereford United in the summer and he still lives in the town.

Tomorrow he will return with his current employers in an FA Cup first round 'derby.' And despite the gulf between the sides – 41 places seperate League One Town from their Blue Square Bet Premier League opponents – he is expecting a difficult home-coming.

Purdie – one of five former Bulls players in the Shrewsbury ranks along with Lee Collins, Darren Jones, Chris Weale and Paul Parry – said: "When I was there every time we brought someone to Edgar Street we felt like we had a chance no matter what league they came from so it is going to be a tough encounter.

"There is a difference in the standard between League One and the Conference – especially throughout the course of a season but one-off games can be quite different.

"But we are not going to be taking it lightly."

Much has already been made of The Bulls current financial problems and there is no doubt that a win, and a possible cup run, in the FA Cup would provide a major cash boost to the hosts.

And having experienced the Shrewsbury-Hereford rivalry from both sides Purdie has no doubt that the Bulls will be desperate to put one over on the visitors.

"When I was at Hereford, we always felt like we wanted to prove a point to Shrewsbury because they were only up the road, a little bit of a bigger town and we wanted to show Shrewsbury what we could do," he said.

"It is a big rivalry for both sets of fans, both sets of players. I know (Hereford manager) Martin Foyle will get them up for the game and the gaffer here wants us to make sure we do everything right so it is going to be a big game."

Living in Hereford will at least make the 'away day' trip far easier than most, but Purdie admits he could be on the receiving end of some friendly banter should the result not go his team's way.

"I will probably walk to the ground from my apartment. Hopefully I will make it to the ground in my Shrewsbury tracksuit," he joked.

"The people in Hereford have been fine with me up until now so I am looking forward to going back. I live in an apartment and the guy above me is a Hereford fan so I have spoken to him about it and I have had a lot of people stopping me in town since the draw."

"I don't know what type of reception I am going to get. I left the club in, I felt, a good way, but obviously I moved to a rival team so I am not sure whether there's going to be boos or jeers or whether they are going to forget who I am.

"If the result doesn't go our way I might get some stick going round town. If the result goes our way I might get run out of town," he chuckled.

Shrewsbury will be boosted by the return of top scorer Marvin Morgan, who completed a two-match ban sitting out last Saturday's 2-2 draw at home to Colchester United.

Town's goal hero in that game, Asa Hall, is also hoping he will be in contention for a place in midfield following his brace.

Purdie came off the bench with 20 minutes left in that game and he is hopeful that a week of hard training will have ensured he at least retains that spot, if not a place in the starting Xl.

Meanwhile Hereford are expected to be unchanged from the side that drew 2-2 with Southport last Saturday.