IT is clearly not necessary to have won the FA Cup to appreciate that it is still regarded as the most romantic of sporting contests.

Neither Sam Allardyce nor, surprisingly, Sammy Lee, ever had the honour of picking up a winners' medal.

But the Reebok management boys have gone out of their way this week to make sure every member of their squad is fully aware of "The Magic of the Cup".

Big Sam, the traditionalist that he is, has been hammering home the historical element of this season's competition: the fact that Wanderers were the first FA Cup winners at the old Wembley in 1923 and how appropriate it would be if they became the first winners at the new stadium.

That is, of course, on the understanding that the long-running project that has been beset with problems is ready in time for the May 19 showpiece.

Lee, meanwhile, has been passionately defending the competition against the snipers who argue that the Premiership is now the be-all and end-all.

"The FA Cup still retains its magic for me," said the man who has that one notable omission form the raft of honours he collected during his playing days with the mighty Liverpool team of the 80s.

"I do not understand why people say the competition has been diminished.

"Some clubs have been working hard for the past few months to get to this stage. They value the Cup very highly, as we all do at Bolton. It's a wonderful competition."Wanderers kick off with a tricky Third Round tie at Doncaster Rovers tomorrow. They are mindful of the fact that the modest but ambitious South Yorkshire side took two Premiership scalps on a run to the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup last season and know that a professional performance is essential at the newly-opened Keepmoat Stadium, if they are to make any progress.

Lee bristles at the description of the tie as a potential "banana skin", not because he does not want to tempt fate but because he considers the term as offensive to Doncaster.

"It's only a banana skin if you treat it lightly," he said. "And that would be showing a lack of respect to the opposition. We have to be aware that there are shocks, there are always things around the corner, but you get that at any level of football.

"You know that, if you don't prepare well enough, you can get hit in the face.

"The romance of the cup is that teams from any league can go on and win it."

That said, it is odds-on that the FA Cup winners this season will come from the upper reaches of the Premiership and, in that respect, fifth placed Wanderers arguably have a better chance than at any time since their famous 1958 triumph.

"We think we can win any competition we go into," Lee said, "but in order to do that, we have to play to our best and we'll have to do that at Doncaster."

There is a lot of chatter among the Bolton squad that this could be their year, discussions Allardyce has been happy to provoke in the build up to tomorrow's tie.

Lee said: "Sam's one of those who always likes to make people aware of the history of this football club.

"There is a legacy here and we have to make sure we carry that on.

"Sam likes to delve back into the archives and make people aware of the responsibility we all have when we put on that shirt for this football club."