IT MAY not be another cup final but Ben Williams has been waiting six weeks for this one.

The experienced stopper captained Hibernian in the Scottish showpiece against Celtic just two years ago.

But he has still got a buzz at the prospect of trying to tame Halifax in the first round at The Shay tomorrow.

For cup specialist Williams, it is one more of those occasional outings because Jordan Pickford has been blocked from playing by Sunderland.

Williams, who last featured in the Capital One Cup exit at MK Dons in September, said: “The games don’t come as thick and fast as you’d like as a player but it means you look forward to every single one you get to play in – and I’m back playing in the FA Cup.

“It’s another derby, there’s quite a few up here. Halifax will be a strong, physical side and they are doing well in the Conference.

“They’ve got a lot of ex-league players so it will be tight and we’ve got to match them from the start and then look to impose ourselves as the game wears on.”

Williams has avoided potential upsets before against the likes of Grays Athletic and Bromley. But he will be taking nothing for granted against the in-form Shaymen.

He added: “It’s always been a case of approaching it the right way when you play a team from non-league. If you are professional enough, it’s easy to treat it as any other game.

“We know it’s a potential banana skin if we take it lightly. The gap from the lower league teams down to the Conference has narrowed a lot.

“You expect the other team to raise their game for the big occasion so you have to allow for that.

“Look at MK Dons turning over Manchester United in the Capital One Cup, these things can happen all too often.

“They will be a physical side and look to capitalise at corners and set-pieces. But you have to be as confident as you normally would and deal with everything put in front of you.”

With four defeats in the last five games, you would expect morale to be wavering within the dressing room. But Williams has not detected any obvious dip.

“It’s a fantastic group here and we’re working as hard as possible to rectify the run of results.

“They’ve been tight games that could have gone either way. That makes it more frustrating but, from a confidence view, you’re well in them.”

City have managed only one clean sheet in the last eight games – an issue that Phil Parkinson knows they need to sort.

He said: “We’ve got to get back to that clean-sheet mentality.

“We hardly conceded a shot last week against Doncaster. It was not as if our keeper’s been overworked or our defenders can’t defend one v one.

“It was literally two attempts on goal and in the back of the net. But we know we’ve got to tighten up and that’s what we are trying to do.”

Williams, who kept a shut-out on his debut at Morecambe in August, added: “That’s what we’ll all be striving for as a defensive unit.

“You build a base on clean sheets and then let the forwards do their bit.

“On paper, we are down as favourites. We are there to be shot at and it’s up to us to live up to that expectation and perform.”