AFC Fylde boss Dave Challinor is relishing the prospect of pitting his wits against a Premier League club after drawing AFC Bournemouth in the FA Cup third round.

Fylde earned their place in the hat with a 1-1 draw against League One table-toppers Wigan Athletic at the weekend and face a tough trip to the DW Stadium for the replay.

The victorious side will travel down to the south coast for a glamour tie against the Cherries over the first weekend of January.

Bournemouth are currently 14th in the Premier League table following their 1-1 draw against Southampton at the weekend and Challinor could not hide his delight.

Challinor said: “The chance to play against a Premier League team is something that might not happen again in the next ten years so to be in this situation is fantastic.

“A few of the big teams had already come out and, in all honesty, we would have been happy with anything Championship or above. For the game to be away at a Premier League ground is another really big incentive for us. 

“It gives our lads more motivation to get through the Wigan game now, however that is still a huge task in itself.

“I don’t think it adds more pressure to the replay. It may change the mindset of Wigan and I suppose the date of the replay may affect them because they will have a strong focus on staying top of the league. 

“We still have a very difficult game ahead but there is now a huge prize at the end of it. 

“We went into the original game not knowing exactly what to expect, but having 90 minutes of experience against them will certainly help us. Hopefully we can learn lessons from Friday night and get a better foothold in the game next time around. 

“We have to stay in the game for as long as possible with the hope that we get a chance to cause an upset.”

Over 90 places separate the Coasters and their potential third round opponents in the football pyramid but Challinor is hoping to reduce that figure over the coming weeks. 

“Hopefully there will be less places between us if we were to get through! Everybody is looking for that ‘big’ draw against the Manchester United’s and Liverpool’s of this world, but this is definitely the next best thing. Chances like this don’t come along often and we are delighted.”