IT may not be the plum, financially rewarding away tie that lower league clubs dream of in the FA Cup, but the opportunity to take on Premier League opposition at St James Park was not lost on Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell.

The Grecians boss guided his team into the fourth round of the competition for the first time in 44 years with a superb 3-1 win over Oxford United on Saturday and Sunday’s draw handed them a home tie with Nottingham Forest.

With all due respect to Forest, it wasn’t Manchester United or Liverpool, or Tottenham Hotspur or Chelsea, top-flight grounds many supporters would like to tick off their football stadium bucket list. But Forest, currently third in the Premier League, is not a bad draw by any means.

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“Football-wise, you want to play at home and give yourself a better chance of winning but I think, finance-wise, obviously playing away means a bigger gate and it’s probably better,” Caldwell said. “The main thing was getting a Premier League team and having that challenge of Premier League team and not only that, but one that is having an exceptional season and is doing really well.

“It’s going to be a brilliant test for the players, a brilliant test for the whole club to host a fourth round tie for the first time in 44 years and it is something we can really look forward to.”

After narrowly avoiding relegation last season, Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo has overseen a remarkable turnaround that sees the club challenging for a Champions League place. They are the only team to have won at leaders Liverpool this season, while their form has led to him winning the manager of the award twice, most recently for their outstanding December, which saw them win five of their six games, including successes over United, Aston Villa and Spurs.

“It’s unbelievable,” Caldwell said. “I don’t watch much Premier League football if I am being honest because I watch so much of League One in preparation for our games, but I did actually watch them last week on Monday Night Football when they played Wolves and they were incredible.

“They were devastating on the counter attack when they got the ball, they have a clear identity that is working extremely well in the Premier League, they are hard to play against, really well organised defensively and have a fantastic manager who has not only done a good job at Forest, but other Premier League clubs as well.

“It is going to be a huge challenge for everyone – players, staff and the whole football club.”

The question for City fans now is when will the game be played and will it be on television? It certainly ticks many boxes – certainly for the football purist – but unfortunately, TV executives are all about viewing figures rather than the magic of the FA Cup.

“I hope so,” Caldwell said. “There are other games like Premier League games such as Villa v Spurs but you’d like to think with the magic of the FA Cup we are one of the TV games with that potential for a huge upset. Fingers crossed that it is on TV.”

Caldwell added: “When it comes around, you never know what team they are going to pick and it is the FA Cup. I always think, as much as they are clearly a top Premier League side at the moment, the FA Cup seems to be a leveller and always give you that opportunity, so when the game comes around, we will be fully prepared, we’ll be ready and we will be full of hope and optimism that we can cause a huge upset.

“They are a Premier League team, so the whole squad will be a top level of player and that will be a massive challenge for our players, but it is a massive challenge that we will look forward to and enjoy. We’ll be fully prepared and we will go into the game with a real belief that we can cause an upset.

“We will have a game plan against them that we think can go and win the game and in the FA Cup, there has been huge upsets over the years and this would obviously be another one of that size.

“It’s a brilliant occasion for the whole club to be there for the first time in 44 years is fantastic and who knows… could we go one round further?”

For now, though, that is all on the backburner. Caldwell gave his players a few days off after Saturday’s win and with tonight’s League One clash with Mansfield Town postponed meaning all of his focus is on Saturday’s trip to St Andrews to take on Birmingham City.

“That is my main priority at the moment,” he said. “Saturday was a brilliant day and for the supporters, I hope it lives long in their memory and the excitement of the draw on Sunday. But the focus for us is to recover and we are fortunate with the Mansfield game being called off we have a four-day build-up into the Birmingham game.

“We can work the players hard this week, both physically and in preparation for a really difficult game against Birmingham, who have not lost in the league at home this season. It will be a big challenge, but a challenge we are really excited about.

“The last three performances, whilst we have not had the results all go in our way, I think the performance levels have been high and we need to continue that.”