IT WON'T quite have the same feel as the last cup tie he was involved in at Valley Parade.

The crowd certainly won't match the 22,245 who witnessed his 2013 efforts to defy Aston Villa in the Capital One Cup semi-finals.

But in the week that marked the fifth anniversary of the penalty shoot-out save from Jordi Gomez of Wigan that began City's unforgettable giant-killing spree, Matt Duke is back on familiar territory tomorrow.

"It's the same every year," said 40-year-old Duke, now in his second season as Chesterfield's goalkeeping coach. "Every time the cup rounds come up, you remember back to who we were playing at that stage.

"I still see the others from that squad occasionally and we've got the group chat.

"I saw Nahki (Wells) the other night playing for Burnley under-23s, James Hanson I see a lot at Sheffield United and Garry Thompson was at Chesterfield the other week playing for Morecambe.

"Some of us also went down to the play-off final. I travelled with Ricky Ravenhill and met up with Gary Jones and Alan Connell at Wembley – it's always good to catch up when we can.

"The game was very close but that's how play-off finals always are. But it looks like Bradford are going well again this season, so fingers crossed they'll do it this time."

This weekend's FA Cup first-round tie also gives Duke the chance to wallow in some 'history makers' nostalgia in the stadium's 2013 Lounge.

He had intended to do that when Chesterfield visited Valley Parade in January but that idea was ditched when Spireites boss Danny Wilson was sacked straight after City's 2-0 win.

"I had big plans to go up and look at the lounge but we found out straight away about Danny, so it didn't feel the right thing to do," said Duke.

"But I always love going there. It's a great stadium and hopefully the result will be a little bit better this time so I can enjoy walking round the lounge."

Chesterfield, five points adrift at the bottom of League Two, are having a tough time of it.

Wilson's replacement Gary Caldwell lasted only eight months in the job and now they are pinning their survival hopes on club favourite Jack Lester.

Duke even had a brief spell in caretaker charge alongside former Bantams team-mate Guy Branston before the Australian was appointed for his first hot-seat spell.

"Branno took over for about a week," said Duke. "Unfortunately he's not at the club any more but he did his best in the job.

"It was a difficult time because we've been going through a bad spell. He tried to put his spin on it but couldn't get the results.

"It was always going to be an interim thing. The quicker the new manager was in, the better really.

"Jack's a legend there but the board made that decision not just because of his connection. From what I've seen up to now, he's going to make a good manager.

"It's not just an appointment to please the fans – but he's another one younger than me, so I'm starting to feel old."

Despite their uncomfortable league position, Duke is not viewing the cup tie as a welcome diversion from the grind of battling to stay up.

He said: "I don't think it is. Whatever game it is, you just want to win it to try and build that morale and confidence.

"It might feel like a break when you're top of the league and can rest a few. But for us it's just another chance to get a result as quickly as possible."