Bristol Rovers chairman Ron Craig is confident the Pirates' FA Cup run will not have a detrimental effect on the club's promotion aspirations.The League One side face a fixture pile-up after reaching the fifth-round of the cup for only the second time in 29 years.

Rovers already have three games in hand over most of the sides vying for the play-offs, with Saturday's visit of Southampton adding another game to the backlog.

Winning those matches would see Paul Trollope's side handsomely positioned in the top six.

Craig insists back-to-back promotions remain the primary aim and that a cup run and climbing the league table go hand in hand.

"I don't anticipate it being too big a problem," he said.

"We have already got a few games to catch up on in the league and we will have another one after Saturday, but I am confident that we have a squad here with the talent and the strength in depth to be able to cope.

"Paul (Trollope) is a very single-minded man and I am sure he and the players will just get on with it because the spirit at the club is superb.

"We had a similar situation last season when we got to the Millennium Stadium in April (for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final) and it was not detrimental to us then - we finished the season strongly and ended up getting promotion.

"If you are playing a lot of games quickly and winning them, it is a good feeling. Hopefully, the same thing will happen this season."

Trollope will be forced into making at least one change to his squad as on loan midfielder Anthony Pulis is ineligible having already featured in the competition for parent club Stoke.

It should not effect Trollope's selection too much as the 23-year-old has started on the bench for the two games since joining the Pirates on a three-month deal.

Defenders Steve Elliott and Ryan Green remain the only absentees with respective medial knee ligament and Achilles injuries.

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