SWINDON Town Under 18s manager David Farrell is hoping his side can continue the “great relief” the FA Youth Cup has provided this season when his boys take on Bromley at the County Ground on Tuesday.

Town’s academy face a Bromley side in round three who knocked out a strong Portsmouth outfit last time out, while Farrell’s boys beat Met Police in extra-time to book their spot in the third round.

The Swindon manager revealed the junior cup competition has been a welcome distraction from the chaos of the coronavirus pandemic, and Farrell hopes to continue the club’s journey with another victory against Bromley.

He said: “The FA Youth Cup has been a great relief for all of us – players and staff – especially after all the unbelievable turmoil we’ve had this season.

“It’s been a welcome distraction for everybody, but it will be another really, really tough game against Bromley.

“We’re expecting a physical battle, but hopefully we can match them and then start to play the ball around.

“What we have shown in our FA Youth Cup games this season is tremendous resilience. When we’ve been up against it, we’ve battled, stuck in the game, and then we’ve got our rewards. Hopefully, we can continue that tomorrow.”

The reward for Town’s Under 18s, if they do manage to secure victory, is an away trip to Portman Road to take on Ipswich Town.

Farrell hopes his lads can be inspired by the senior side’s effort on Sky Sports at the weekend, but warned they cannot look too far ahead for fear of tripping at the first hurdle.

He said: “It’s a wonderful stadium to play at (Portman Road, and it would be fantastic for the boys if we can get there.

“It would be a great place to experience, I know that having done it many times myself as a player.

“There is no better carrot than getting to play at a proper Football League stadium against a very strong academy.

“But we’re just focusing on Bromley – I know it’s a cliché but we have to just focus on one game at a time.

“If the boys get their heads in the clouds and they’re not concentrating, we can come unstuck.”