SWINDON Town manager David Flitcroft admits he cannot alter the club’s past failings in the FA Cup but will give his all to ensure they are not repeated when he takes his side to non-league side Dartford in the first round on Sunday.

Town head to Princes Park looking for a first victory in the FA Cup since their third round win at home to Wigan Athletic in January 2012, having fallen at the first hurdle in each of the previous five seasons.

Three of those defeats came at the hands of non-league opposition – Macclesfield in both the 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns as well as Eastleigh last season – so Town fans will be wary of suffering the same fate against the Darts, who sit top of National League South.

If complacency was a factor in those humbling cup exits, Flitcroft is adamant that there will be no such repeat within his squad in Kent tomorrow.

“The history I can’t change, I can only learn from it and understand it. It’s about what we do in the present and what we do in the future,” said Flitcroft.

“I have got a brilliant squad that I am working with, I have got a top chairman that I am working with, and I feel everyone is on the same page and working together.

“Now it is about making sure we create a new future and make sure that we are competitive in every game. We have certainly turned it into a winning culture up to now and that has got to continue.

“We will never take any opponent lightly or ever disrespect an opponent.

“Maybe in the past, because it was Swindon Town, you could just roll out to play a non-league team and are expected to win, so you go in with that expectancy.

“This group don’t work like that and we have not worked like that from day one.

“Sunday is a great opportunity for us to progress into the next round but we know there are some hard miles that we have got to conquer.”

Although Town head into the match as heavy favourites, Flitcroft is well aware that a tough test is sure to await his troops against a Dartford side sitting at the top of their division in tier six and having lost just three of 16 league games this term.

“They are flying high in the league, they will have a confidence about them and they will want to raise their game against Football League opposition,” said Flitcroft.

“That’s expected but I think they have been performing at a top level anyway – and our team has too. I don’t expect them to work harder than us, I don’t expect them to try harder than us. This group of players, barring a couple of games, have given it total commitment since the day I walked into the football club and that will continue.”