When Plymouth Argyle play their Emirates FA Cup fourth round tie against Liverpool at Home Park next month their chief executive officer Andrew Parkinson will be in the very unusual position for him of not wanting the Reds to win.

Liverpool is Parkinson's home city, he worked for the Anfield club as their director of operations for seven years, and his great grandfather Jack played for the Reds between 1903 and 1914, scoring 123 goals in 199 games.

When Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool came to Home Park in January 2017 for a FA Cup third round replay with Argyle, following a 0-0 draw at Anfield, Parkinson was among the group of visiting officials from Merseyside.

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Liverpool narrowly won 1-0 against the Pilgrims, then a League Two side managed by Derek Adams, but a packed stadium made a very favourable impression on Parkinson.

He went on to be appointed as Argyle's chief executive officer in May 2019 and since then he has overseen the day-to-day running of the club. There have been a lot of memorable moments during that time, and the visit of Arne Slot's Premier League leaders for the FA Cup tie will be another one.

The fourth round draw took place on Sunday afternoon but Parkinson did not see it live on TV. "Miron (Muslic) and I were sat talking about the games ahead and all sorts of other things, and then suddenly I started getting text messages," he said. "I didn't know what was going on, and then obviously it became very clear from then on. Very interesting!

"I did work there for a long time but my great grandfather also played for Liverpool, and my family were from Liverpool as well, so there is very much a connection.

"When Argyle did play Liverpool at Home Park last time I came down as a director that day. I saw the home game as well. I was very taken with the amount of supporters Argyle took (to Anfield), but also the atmosphere here as well."

Eight years on, the clubs will be meeting again. "The priority has to be the league but it will be a great occasion for the club," said Parkinson.

"It's another opportunity to showcase what Argyle is all about, it will have worldwide attention of course, and for the players and for Miron it's a good opportunity to lock horns with quality players. It's really exciting.

"I think the last two, three years the club has got a far higher profile than it did, and that's in all respects - the style of football, the promotions that have happened, but also the way we go about doing things. I think we are seen by many as a good way to run a football club.

"The fans get great credit as well for how everything is. The number of times I hear 'We went down to Home Park and it was just bouncing' that's not uncommon. That happens all the time. It's another opportunity to show that."

Argyle's fourth round tie against Liverpool is expected to be broadcast on live TV, either by the BBC or ITV, but there has been no confirmation of that yet.

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