Last Updated: Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:47
Stoke boss Tony Pulis admits the Potters have been handed a potential banana skin after the FA Cup draw paired them with Hartlepool.
Stoke will head to the North East early in the new year for the third-round tie and Pulis knows it will be far from straightforward.
He told the Sentinel: "It's not the one you would take by choice because there's no doubt Hartlepool will fancy making a name for themselves.
"We'll have to be on our game from the off, otherwise it will be a very long afternoon up there.
"We know it will be cold and unfriendly, I'd expect nothing less in the third round of the Cup, but we'll have to make sure we're ready for it."