BRIGHOUSE Town Women have reached the holy grail of the FA Cup Third Round this weekend, with manager Rob Mitchell happy to relish their underdog status.

They will be going up against Huddersfield, who were top of the league above them when it was declared null and void last month.

Discussing tomorrow's big West Yorkshire derby, Mitchell said: "I wouldn't be in the game if I didn't think we could win but there has to be a bit of realism.

"They're an excellent side with a lot of players we know well, but we've prepared as well as we can, and had a good tactical session on Wednesday.

"We're happy to have that underdog mentality and we just hope we can cause an upset and get through to the fourth round for just the second time in our history.

"If we can beat them, then we feel we can beat anyone in their league (the FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division).

"It'll be a good experience for us as we want to be in that division, so we want to prove we can compete.

"The fourth round is where the Super League sides like Man City and Arsenal come in but it's already been drawn and we'll play Derby or West Brom (the same league as Huddersfield) if we get through.

"But this is an opportunity now. If we can squeeze through in our next two, the likelihood of playing a Super League team may become a reality."

Brighouse got to this stage by beating Newcastle 3-0 last weekend after extra-time, with Mitchell admitting he felt his side could outlast their North-East opponents given their fitness and prowess off the bench.

Hotshot strikers Amy Woodruff, who came on to net twice, and Hannah Freibach were only substitutes for a couple of interesting reasons.

Mitchell explained: "Amy had missed the previous rounds because she was doing tests to become a firefighter, which she's now passed.

"She understood I wanted to stick with the side that had got us through previously. I knew she could have an impact off the bench though and she did.

"Hannah is just back from having a child and though she's not missed much competitive action, it's a bit difficult to get straight into it after that."

With their FA WNL Division One North season over, Mitchell admitted Brighouse are just grateful to have these FA Cup games.

Mitchell said: "I keep reinforcing to the team that we're privileged to be able to play. A lot of teams at our level and below can only train and play friendlies, and don't have the buzz of the FA Cup.

"We've used that mentality to give us motivation, because if we lose then it's all gone.

"We're fighting for every ball and every moment and you could feel it in the goal celebrations against Newcastle, at full-time, even when the girls turned up for the game.

"It's like Christmas morning and they can't wait to play. It's really good to see and hopefully we can emulate that again this weekend."

Mitchell is a busy man, and as well as his role with Brighouse, works in Halifax's academy, at Calderdale College, and for Forza Football Academy, where he coaches some of Yorkshire's most talented youngsters.

He said: "Football's not been on properly for a long time and I've still got the taste for it.

"Working at Calderdale College has been strange over the last year or so, but I teach six to 12 year olds at Forza, junior grassroots stuff, and it's been nice to have them in on and off.

"It's great to see all the boys and girls enjoying themselves.

"In my various roles, I coach people from six to 36 so it's a vast amount of ages I'm in contact with, but I enjoy all my roles, because it's football.

"But Brighouse is the one thing I dedicate most of my time too."