Ben Pearson: Boreham Wood have got nothing to lose in FA Cup

Luke Garrard's Wood head to Vitality Stadium unbeaten since October, sitting inside the National League's top six.

It is the first time the Hertfordshire club have reached the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Bookmakers have Cherries listed as heavy favourites for victory, priced at 2-7, while Boreham Wood are available at 11-1, one of just two non-league sides remaining in the competition.

Cherries defeated another National League side in the last round in Yeovil Town, with Pearson playing the full 90 minutes of the 3-1 victory at Huish Park.

Looking ahead to the clash with Boreham Wood, Pearson told the Daily Echo: "I think those games are difficult. The longer the games usually go on, the more difficult it gets.

"I think we’ll be looking to obviously win the game, that’s the main thing, get through to the next round.

"But like you see over the years, there’s a lot of giant-killings in that cup.

"So we’ll just be trying to do our best to try and avoid that. Just play our game, and if we do that, we should win."

Asked if he feels added pressure with the ITV cameras and all neutrals watching likely to be hoping to see a famous cup upset, Pearson said: "No, I think it’s a game of football isn’t it?

"It’s 11 men against 11 men, anyone can win on the day, no matter what league you’re in.

"We’ll be trying our best to win the game. I think being the underdog is a lot easier, no matter what league you’re in.

"They’ll be the underdogs so they’ve got nothing to lose. We’ve got everything to lose, but it’s a game of football, what will be, will be."

He added: "It probably takes our mind off the league a bit.

"The league has been in our minds, especially when you haven’t picked up the results you want, sometimes it’s nice to get a break. I think the game on Sunday allows us that.

"We might change it up a little bit. But it’s another game we’ll look forward to, we want to progress in that tournament so we’ll look forward to that."