BLUES boss Gareth Ainsworth said the carrot of a dream third round tie should be enough of an incentive to beat his former club Preston North End in the FA Cup tomorrow.

Wanderers have one of the toughest ties of the second round to negotiate as they face a Preston side sitting third in League One and on a nine match unbeaten run.

But having beaten high graded opposition in two different cup competitions this season, Ainsworth sees no reason why his team can't make it a hat trick and claim a tie against one of the Premier League big boys in the third round.

He said: "I want to beat Preston on Saturday because the FA Cup's special to Wycombe and special to me, and a fairytale third round draw would be great for the club.

"Hopefully we can come away as winners on Saturday but I'm sure Preston fans will be appreciative of what Wycombe are trying to do, how we are trying to do things. They'll respect us but we have to be on the ball. They're third in League One and flying high.

"We went to Swindon and did OK. Crewe Alexandra, we took them out - there's no reason why we can't beat Preston North End either."

Ainsworth is a cult hero amongst Preston fans after having three separate playing spells with the Deepdale club, although he developed a habit of scoring against his former side.

He joked: "I'm still registered so I might put myself on the bench."