Barnsley manager Simon Davey will fulfil a boyhood dream when he leads out his side at Anfield against Liverpool in the FA Cup.

The Tykes will be backed by 6,000 fans for the fifth-round tie - they sold out their ticket allocation within two days - and Davey admitted he will be as excited as every single one of them.

He said: "When I was a lad I was a big Liverpool fan. They were my team and it would have been a dream come true to play for them.

"To be a part of Liverpool was beyond anything I could imagine, so to walk out of the tunnel with my team against them in the FA Cup is going to be pretty special."

But former Preston defender Davey, who played five matches in midfield alongside a young David Beckham, insisted he is not taking his multi-national side to Anfield to make up the numbers.

He said: "Liverpool are a huge club with big-name players and a fantastic stadium, so my lads have to go there and enjoy it.

"That is the last thing I will tell them. They have an opportunity and they have to enjoy it.

"This will be the pinnacle of some of their careers so far and they have to make sure they take the chance.

"I will be very proud to lead the team out at Anfield, but we are going there to try and win the game."

Barnsley have let an impressive start to their Coca-Cola Championship campaign slip away, with just three wins in their last 15 matches.

But they hit something like top form last week when beating West Brom and have already accounted for the Baggies' promotion rivals Watford this season.

Midfielder Anderson De Silva has proved a real coup for Davey, who persuaded the Brazilian to showcase his talents at Oakwell on a permanent basis after being left on the bench at Everton.

Skipper Brian Howard has a knack of scoring crucial goals from midfield and although teenage defender Lewin Nyatanga and Jon Macken - another transfer window signing after an impressive loan spell - are both cup-tied, there is no shortage of talent in Davey's squad.

Davey added: "We've got some very good players, technically very good at this level and for them to put themselves on that stage against world class players might lift them to another level."

Barnsley edged past Blackpool 2-1 at Oakwell in the third round and clinched Saturday's big pay-day with a 1-0 win at Southend in the previous round.

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