Mel Reay sends strong Sunderland FA Cup message with significant prizes on offer

Mel Reay says Sunderland are taking their FA Cup campaign seriously as they prepare to enter the competition at the third-round stage.

Sunderland face National League Division One side Durham Cestria at Eppleton on Sunday (2pm kick off), knowing that they will face a tough test from a team who pushed Newcastle United all the way to the title last season. A third round win last year landed Sunderland a tie against Manchester United, underlining the benefits of progressing.

Clubs are also benefiting from a significantly increased prize pot this season, with £35,000 awarded to the winner of all third round ties. That rises to £54,000 for winners in the fourth road, a potentially significant injection at an important stage of the season.

Sunderland are returning from a three-week break and though they now play three times in seven days, it means Reay is likely to pick a near full-strength side for the tie.

Tickets have been heavily reduced for the fixture, available at just £3 for adults and £1 for U16s.

"We're certainly taking it seriously," Reay said.

"It's a great competition and one we want to try and go far in, there's a huge financial reward with the prize money increasingly significantly this season, so there's a lot of stake.

"The players have been talking about where we might go on our nice summer holiday if we win, I've warned them that I don't think that's what the club will have in mind! It doesn't add any pressure for the players, but as a club we certainly want to do well because I think you can then reinvest that money into the women's domain.

"We've prepared like every other game, we've done our due diligence and we'll put a strong team out there that we think can go and win the game and get us in the hat for the next round. We've watched a lot of Durham Cestria, we've talked to some of their opponents. They're two divisions below us but we don't take anyone lightly, we know they're going to come and make it difficult for us so we have to be at our best and start really quickly to get good momentum going in the game.

"We did well last year in this cup and had Man Utd come to Eppleton, and gave them a really good game with a sell-out crowd - we'll take it one game at a time but you know the big teams are coming in for the fourth round so we'll see what happens.

"It's a fantastic competition and I think for us, the way it's scheduled, it doesn't really ruin your schedule. There's no league fixtures so it's not crammed in, whereas the Conti Cup can sometimes feel like that."

The three-week break allowed Sunderland to reflect on a hugely successful start to the campaign, and also allowed Reay to step up preparations for the January window.

"I've sent in my wishlist, so I'll have to see which of Santa's lists I'm on this year! I'm always looking to see if I can improve, and to see if I can give us a boost for that second half of the season," Reay said.