There could be a rare start for Peterborough United striker as club insist they are up for the FA Cup

McCann will name his ‘strongest possible’ side for a first round tie against League Two club Salford City at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday (3pm).

Only injuries will keep the biggest names on the sidelines with club captain and top scorer Jonson Clarke-Harris, Kwame Poku and Joe Ward the main doubts apart from the club’s long-term absentees.

“The FA Cup is important to us,” McCann insisted. “My second game in charge was a tie against Manchester City and those games are what the FA Cup is all about for clubs like ours. The revenue is important.

"I will field as strong a side as possible and I am expecting a very tough game against a side who have recruited well, who play good football and who have invested well.

"It is another game we are expected to win because we are in a higher division, but my players know there are good teams in every division and Salford are a good League Two side with aspirations of going up.

"You only have to look how well Exeter are doing in League One this season to know the gap between the top sides in League Two and League One is not that big.

"We must make sure our mentality is right.

"It’s a good draw for us though as we are at home and it’s a game we are really looking forward to. We’re in good form and we’ve had a good week to prepare for it. We took it easy for the first couple of days before ramping things up.

If Clarke-Harris doesn’t make it, Jack Marriott is set to step up for the first meeting between the clubs after shrugging off a minor foot complaint.

Marriott hasn’t started a League One game since September 13, but did start the EFL Trophy game at Wycombe last month.