"I'M no hypocrite - we'll go there trying to play and trying to entertain."

That's the message from York City Knights boss James Ford as he prepares to take his side to the home of Super League champions St Helens for tomorrow night's Ladbrokes Challenge Cup tie.

Ford's team are overwhelming underdogs - Saints are 3-1 favourites to win the cup outright while the part-time Knights range from 2,500-1 to not even registering on bookies' coupons. As such, they could be expected to travel with dogged damage-limitation tactics.

However, Ford has recently complained when League One minnows attempt to slow down and spoil their encounters in a bid to keep the Knights in check, and he says it would be hypocritical to now do likewise with the tables turned.

The goal, instead, is to "enhance our reputation" with an attacking philosophy and earn the respect of their peers, regardless of the scoreline.

"It's going to be an immensely difficult test for us," he said.

"But we've got good young players who are attack-minded and we will go there and attack.

"We're not going to go there and kick the ball into touch, go for scrums and slow it all down. We're going to try to give enjoyment for the spectators.

"It's no good me moaning about teams playing slow and disruptive stuff against us and then us go there and ruin the spectacle.

"We're going to move the ball around.

"Our target is to earn the respect of St Helens' players and to enhance our reputation.

"We moved the ball really well at times against Coventry and Gloucestershire, and against Swinton we made 13 line breaks.

"For a team who had a full pre-season taken from them (due to the community stadium situation rendering them homeless), they are doing so well.

"In the five years I've been at York, this is probably the best York team I've seen with the ball.

"We've got some distance to travel defensively but how we're shaping up in possession - I'm excited to see how we fare on Friday night."

Asked if that defensive frailty was a particular concern against Saints, Ford said: "St Helens are a fantastic attacking team. They play a really high tempo and in the middle of the field they're enormous. The smallest is around 110 kilos and the biggest, Mose Masoe, is around 130 kilos.

"I've said before, rugby league is played by big, strong, athletic men and my boys will see that on Friday night. They'll see where we're coming from when we talk to them about the importance of weights, nutrition and lifestyle."

Asked if he had dared to dream of victory - which would amount to arguably the biggest shock in rugby league history - he said: "I'm not worried about the outcome of the game, I've not really thought about it. I'm always thinking about the processes and the individual battles and how well we do in them - they all add up. Unfortunately for us, the little things we do really well, St Helens will do really well.

"The more I watch them on video, the better they appear to be getting.

"That's rugby league at Super League standards, at the high end of Super League. They've got some world-class players - look at Mose Masoe or James Roby, for example - who will all get into any team in any league.

"Kieron Cunningham, the head coach, is one of the best players that's ever played the game. It will be an honour to coach against him.

"But for us, when we speak to other clubs, they're impressed with how we play with the ball and the brand of rugby league that we play.

"Our reputation is growing and we're growing as a team. We're still nowhere near our potential but we're going there looking to enhance that further."