CARDIFF CITY owner Sam Hammam yesterday said he will not shed any tears if the Bluebirds are dumped out of the FA Cup by Nationwide Conference side Margate on Saturday.
And Hammam caused a further stir by saying he has no interest in seeing his club reach the LDV Vans Trophy final at the Millennium Stadium.
The Lebanese multi-millionaire is desperate to win promotion to the First Division this season and he believes both cup competitions are an unwelcome distraction.
"I am not keen on the FA Cup and I am not keen on the LDV Vans Trophy either," Hammam told The Western Mail last night.
"These cups are not my primary objective - but they could affect my primary objective which is promotion.
"To me, the FA Cup and the LDV Vans Trophy are like paying tax - it is something that has to be done.
"People say that reaching the LDV Vans final will mean a great day for Cardiff, but I am not into having one great day. I want to have great days.
"What good is reaching the LDV final and winning it if we miss out on promotion? If our key players are injured playing in the FA Cup or the LDV Vans Trophy I will not be happy."
Former Wimbledon owner Hammam tasted FA Cup glory in 1988 when the Dons beat Liverpool at Wembley.
And last season he watched his Bluebirds pull off the giant-killing act of 2001-02 when they knocked Premiership leaders Leeds out of the competition.
Victory against Margate would see City progress to the third round - and that could mean a big-money draw with a Premiership club just as they did last season.
But Hammam will not be too upset if the struggling Conference outfit stun the football world and beat big-spending City at Dover's Crabble Top ground this weekend.
"The FA Cup, like the LDV Vans Trophy, is of no consequence to me although I'm the only one at the club who thinks this way," added Hammam.
"I can assure you that Lennie Lawrence (City manager) and the players are taking the Margate game very seriously and that they want to win it 100 per cent.
"And apart from wanting to do well in the FA Cup they also want to reach the Millennium Stadium and play in the LDV final.
"But as far as I'm concerned these competitions are small stuff - they are a total waste. The two most important things for Cardiff City are promotion and a new stadium."
City travel to Bournemouth next Tuesday for their LDV Vans Trophy quarter-final clash and Lawrence's men know they are only three matches away from playing at the Millennium Stadium.
"What I don't want are our best players getting injured or suspended playing in the FA Cup because this will affect our promotion drive," said Hammam.
"Will the supporters be happy if Cardiff are still in the Second Division next season because we had players injured in cup games?
"We missed out on promotion last season and I feel that this club suffered a lot of damage because of that.
"Winning promotion is not the be all and end all this season but I would like us to go up as soon as we can. This is a Premiership club and it's not right that we should be playing in the Second Division."
