ADAM Bartlett might have been on the receiving end of a 7-0 thrashing in his last FA Cup third round tie, but the 32-year-old York City keeper would love another chance to take on one of the game’s big boys in the competition.

The former England C international has twice helped non-League teams reach that stage of the knockout tournament, losing 2-0 with Kidderminster during a mouth-watering derby clash at Coventry in 2009 before being part of a Gateshead team that were sent packing in ruthless fashion by then Premier League outfit West Brom four seasons ago.

Ex-England squad member Saido Berahino - a recent subject of ridicule for failing to score in 48 matches over a two-and-a-half year period until this August - grabbed four goals that afternoon.

But, even though Bartlett could not thwart the Hawthorns hosts, he admitted the tie still provided fond memories for the 1,100 travelling Heed fans, while the run also resulted in an estimated £175,000 windfall and, ahead of City’s third qualifying round home tie against St Ives Town, Bartlett has spoken of the added incentive of potentially attracting the TV camera to Bootham Crescent for one last time prior to the move to Monks Cross.

He said: “That West Brom game was Tony Pulis’ first in charge and, after 42 minutes, it was 0-0 but, after 55, it was 5-0. The floodgates opened, and it made you aware that you were up against top players.

“But I still remember the fans chanting all game and they had no expectations in terms of the result. They just wanted a great day out and, even if all my family were there to see me pick the ball out of the net seven times, you can still enjoy the occasion.

“It’s a big ask to go all the way to the third round, but it can be done if you have a bit of luck with the draws, or put in some big performances against good teams. At Gateshead, we had a couple of games televised in the first and second rounds as well, so that pulled in a lot of money.

“For us, this season, getting to the first round would be fantastic and any further would be great, especially if it meant getting the cameras down to Bootham in our last season here.”

Bartlett went on to reason that a sub-standard City performance during Tuesday night’s 2-2 league draw at Nuneaton should - rightly or wrongly - now ensure that the club are less susceptible to a Cup upset when the EvoStik League South Premier Central visitors come to town tomorrow afternoon.

“Going into the cup game, Nuneaton should help, however wrong it feels to say that, because we were not good enough and we’ve got to put that right,” the Newcastle-born net-minder argued. “We can’t have that in back-to-back games.

“We’ve got to get back to winning ways and put on a much better performance and this game is a must-win, because we don’t want to be going there for a replay on a Tuesday night. That would be a really, tough game.

“Nuneaton were the better side for long periods (on Tuesday), especially going forward and we haven’t started well for two consecutive matches now. We had a few lucky escapes because they had three or four chances in the first half when we were a bit too open and were not at it.

“We fought our way back after the subs changed the game and took both goals well but, looking at the table, a point is not good enough for a club like York and we’ll go to places worse than Nuneaton, so there’s no excuses if we want to do something in this division.”

Bartlett added that caretaker boss Sam Collins’ meticulous approach to match preparation should also ensure St Ives will not be the unknown quantity they were when the two teams were matched together in last month’s draw.

“No stone will be left unturned because we have been doing a lot more video analysis of ourselves and the opposition over the last six weeks,” he pointed out. “We spend a good chunk of time on that and we’ll know about their set-plays, the formations they have used for the last five games and their personnel’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Bartlett will be looking to bounce back, meanwhile, from a rare misjudgement for Nuneaton’s first goal in midweek, admitting: “It was a mistake and I should have done better, but we’d made a slow start and I wanted to come and get the ball.

“I got involved with Simon Heslop and their big lad when I probably didn’t need to and the ball’s come off Hessie’s head. After that, it was still such a scruffy goal and they maybe wanted it a bit more in the second and third phases.”

On-loan Port Vale striker Dior Angus netted both goals for Nuneaton, taking his tally to five in nine outings this term and Bartlett confessed that the 24-year-old forward looked a good prospect at National League North level.

“He caused us problems all night,” the City shot-stopper declared. “He was a decent player and nearly caught me off-guard a couple of times, because I didn’t expect him to shoot from where he was or with the quality of the strikes and he’ll be a big player for them if he carries on in that type of form.”

City’s switch to a back three, meanwhile, has seen the side ship two goals in their last two league fixtures, but Bartlett believes right-sided, centre-half Josh Law was a standout performer at Nuneaton, as he adapts to the system.

“I thought Josh Law was different class defensively,” Bartlett said. “He made a few vital headers and good blocks and is starting to grow into that position.”