Portsmouth progress in Cup - but Charlton boss Lee Bowyer is relieved his promotion hopefuls are out

But as Blues boss Kenny Jackett looks forward to tomorrow night’s draw, League One counterpart Lee Bowyer will have no interest whatsoever in proceedings.

Not because his Charlton team are no longer in the competition, after they suffered a 1-0 first-round home defeat against Plymouth.

Instead, simply put, the Addicks manager has no interest in this season’s competition. It’s the league that counts for him.

That was reflected in his team selection for their game against the Pilgrims at The Valley.

SEE ALSO: Eisner welcomes Cup win at Ipswich but reveals where his priorities lie

While Jackett kept faith with the same starting XI that beat Lincoln away in midweek, Bowyer made eight changes to the side that saw off Fleetwood on the same night – one less than the nine alterations made by Ipswich’s Paul Lambert.

The Pompey manager’s Cup stance has come under some criticism, especially after injuries to Andy Cannon and Callum Johnson in the 3-2 extra-time win at Portman Road.

However, Jackett justified his decision by admitting he didn’t want his regulars to go 13 days without a game, with Plymouth away (Monday, November 16) in the league clearly on his mind.

His reward is seeing his side progress in the competition, as he looks to juggle interest in both the cup and League One.

But for Bowyer, his priority is the league – and nothing will distract him from that.

He told londonnewsonline: ‘I’ve said all along, I never ever prioritise the cups.

‘No disrespect, but we’re not going to win it.

‘We’re playing in a stupid fixture list. With the amount of games in such a short space of time – Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday – it’s ridiculous.

‘Now they want to chuck this cup in there, this other cup that we’re playing on Tuesday. It’s stupid.

‘They’re human beings the players, they’re not flipping machines. Am I disappointed I’m out of the cup? Not really.

‘Not in a disrespectful way, because I love the cup, but the league is more important to me and it always has been.’

Charlton, who beat Pompey 2-0 at Fratton Park last weekend, sit third in the League One table – two points ahead of the seventh-placed Blues.

They are joined by Sunderland in having no more interest in this year’s FA Cup.

The Black Cats lost 1-0 at home to Mansfield, with manager Phil Parkinson making eight changes to his starting line-up.

The Blues’ next game is against West Ham United under-21s on Tuesday night in the EFL Trophy.

Jackett is expected to make wholesale changes to his side for that fixture.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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