Martin O’Neill is taking the FA Cup seriously as Sunderland aim to emulate the club’s distinguished crop of ’73.

MENTION the FA Cup to Sunderland fans and not surprisingly the year 1973 springs to mind.

Ian Porterfield’s goal, Jimmy Montgomery’s save, Bob Stokoe’s jig of delight and Bobby Kerr lifting the famous old trophy are images ingrained in any Sunderland supporter’s head.

One such fan just so happens to be the current manager. And, ahead of tomorrow’s third-round trip to Championship side Peterborough, Martin O’Neill is keen to ensure Black Cats supporters of the present will one day be able to reflect upon new FA Cup glories.

Although his own jig might be restricted to within his own technical area.

The reputation of the FA Cup has taken a bit of a battering in recent years.

The day when it was viewed as the premier cup competition – when the big boys could be humiliated by the little guy, when TV coverage of the final itself would start with five-hour build-ups to kick-off, and when the finalists would release cup final singles showing why they’d deserve to be locked up for crimes to music – appear to be long gone.

As big money was poured into the Premier League and the Champions League, the previously not-so-level playing field developed into a chasm, with the romantic shocks of yesteryear rarely occurring. Indeed, the winning of it doesn’t appear to register on the big clubs’ agenda as highly as it once did, with some of them at times seeing the competition as an unnecessary distraction and deliberately fielding weakened sides by choice instead of circumstance. Back in 2000, Manchester United even preferred not to enter it at all, judging a World Club Championship in Brazil to be more prestigious.

However, for O’Neill, romance is not dead – and neither is the prospect of winning some silverware.

After all, nice though 1973 was for the Wearsiders, it is high time another Sunderland captain succeeded Bobby Kerr in lifting the famous trophy.

O’Neill said: “It’s a viable route to silverware.