Newcastle United skipper Rob Lee admitted that after all the build-up, and one match already against FA Cup opponents Stevenage, he was eager to see the back of the fourth round tie.
The two clubs meet again in the replay at St James' Park today and the Newcastle captain had only one thing on his mind - to beat the Vauxhall Conference outfit and then look ahead to a fifth round home tie with Tranmere on St Valentine's Day.
"All of the lads want now is to get the tie over and done with," he said. "They have done a lot of talking in the newspapers - we'll do our talking on the pitch.
"We are all really looking forward to the game - the whole squad feel the same way. We will not be disrespectful, but want to do our talking where it matters. The players are desperate for the game."
Newcastle have a great chance of progressing into the sixth round, as Lee accepted: "Without being disrespectful to either Stevenage or Tranmere Rovers, we've got home draws and that is what we want. And, if we fail it will be down to ourselves."
The England midfielder's form has shown clear signs of improvement, and was worth a place in the national squad for the warm-up friendly against Chile.
He believes the whole squad has been boosted by the return of Alan Shearer and the arrival of Andreas Andersson and Andy Griffin.
Lee said: "The gaffer has got everyone fit now so he can choose whatever team he wants. Especially when you have two forwards who are prepared to work hard like Alan and Andreas, you're always going to feel more comfortable throughout the side."
If the club's recent form has shown signs of improvement, then Lee puts a lot of this down to the return of the England skipper Shearer.
"I think Alan coming back has given the place a massive boost," he said.
"We are looking forward to the rest of the season, it has gone from a situation when there was only two players training after we played at Everton, the other day we had 23. Now we could put out two very strong teams.
"We are more than capable of climbing the table and having a very good cup run. Without being disrespectful we have home games in the cup and that is what we want."
