Chris Beech insists Carlisle United are underdogs with nothing to lose as they prepare to face Doncaster in the FA Cup tomorrow.

The Second Round tie at Brunton Park (kick-off 1.30pm) pits Beech’s sixth-placed League Two side against visitors sitting 10th in the third tier.

Carlisle are hoping to topple Darren Moore’s side in the hope of earning a lucrative Third Round tie.

The Cumbrians edged past non-league Hayes & Yeading to reach this stage of the competition, and Beech said of Doncaster: “They’re very, very good at possession-based football, with individuals within that that have game-changing moments in them.

“If you’re looking at them, they’re very dangerous and they generally dominate their opponents.

“They keep going. I watched their game against Blackpool on DVD and to get back to a winning position from where they were [Doncaster won 3-2 after trailing 2-0] was great team spirit.

“They’ve got a bit of everything. From my perspective, I’ll share that with the lads – they have to understand how difficult our opponents are, but we are Hayes & Yeading in this tie, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

“We are the team that Doncaster shouldn’t lose to, but we’ve got that challenge in front of us that we understand they’re very good.

“In terms of an FA Cup Round Two opponent they’re probably the best. We’ve got to be right at it to try and get in that hat for Round Three.”

United could come up against a Doncaster legend in the shape of evergreen James Coppinger.

The 39-year-old has made a record-breaking 672 appearances for Donny.

Beech was full of praise for the midfielder. He said: “He’s so good, so professional, such a good person.

“I don’t know him personally but I know people that do know him, and I do know that he still affects games, massively so.

“For anybody to look after themselves as well as he does, and to keep playing at the levels he plays at, is commendable.

“They’ve got big Andy Butler as well in there, who’s again getting on a little bit but he’s been an excellent servant to football and to Doncaster.

“They have people like that in their changing room along with some young zest and energy, and some high technical players.

“I know a few Championship clubs are looking at a couple of their midfield players etc. They’re really at it so we’ve got a massive challenge on our hands.”

Beech is hoping Callum Guy will be fit for tomorrow’s tie, which is being shown live on the BBC’s digital platforms, but Rod McDonald and Connor Malley are out.

Doncaster, meanwhile, could include two ex-Blues loan players in Tom Anderson and Reece James.

Tyreece John-Jules and Madger Gomes could return from injury, their manager Moore said yesterday.

Carlisle's boss has not ruled out making changes but is confident whichever side he selects can give the Blues a fighting chance of being in Monday night’s draw.

He said: “If you look at football in general, even at Liverpool this week, there’s big difference in a few changes.

“But I think all our players can play in our team.

“It’s hard if you’re not doing it week-in, week-out to be at the levels players are if you’re replacing them.

“I’ve told them, even within games to our substitutes, to make significant difference in games – why should it go down? It can go up in terms of what you can give us.

“Everybody’s available for it, so I’ve got my mind on what I feel will be quite interesting to play against Doncaster, but I don’t want to share too much [publicly] to help them set up against us.”

United reached the Third Round under Beech last season and took Championship outfit Cardiff to a replay in two high-scoring games.

The head coach said: “We’ll be trying our best to give it a right go, that’s for sure. There’s no guarantees of anything.

“We found ourselves 2-0 up at Cardiff and scored three at home and got beat. To score five goals against a team trying to get in the Premier League was quite ridiculous not to be able to say you’re in Round Four.

“It was a great occasion for me and the players, and for the club – and for our supporters. We could share it with them at that point. It’s a shame we can’t this weekend but we can try and be in the Round Three and hopefully share that experience with them.

“It would be a great Christmas present for the fans, wouldn’t it? We’ll do our work and try our best to get there, and it’s exciting that it’s a possibility.”

United will receive a £12,500 broadcast fee from the tie being shown by the BBC, and can also claim £25,500 prize money with victory, receiving £8,500 if they are instead beaten.

Progress to the Third Round would also raise the prospect of drawing a Premier League club.

On the possible financial benefits of advancing in the competition, Beech said: “David Holdsworth [director of football] has done a very good job to make sure we’ve got good business practices in place, but any cash that isn’t expected is a bonus whenever it comes in.

“I am very mindful of that as I do my job because as soon as we gain anything it allows me to knock on the door and ask for something.

“A cup run might help as we look at January, so it’s important that we try to get through, if we can.”