FOREST Green manager Jim Harvey said that meeting Derby County in the third round of the FA Cup is “marvellous” for the club.

The 50-year-old Ulsterman described Saturday's second round shock win over League Two side Rochdale as the proudest moment of his managerial career and was dreaming of meeting the club he supported as a boy, Manchester United.

The Ulsterman, who supported United as a boy, revealed the club have been talking about a potential trip to Old Trafford all week.

“Colin Peake worked out that Manchester United will be 23 in the draw and that’s been the buzz number around the club.

“Bobby Charlton was my childhood hero so I would love to have gone there or one of the half dozen top sides.”

But Harvey was delighted to see his side drawn against two-time English champions Derby - the club who he made his debut against as a footballer 30 years ago with Arsenal - and said it would be a great day for the New Lawn club.

The game will be played on the first weekend in January.

“It is an excellent draw,” he said. “I think if we got one of the top four or five clubs away it would have been a tremendous money spinner for the club but failing that Derby, who are in the Championship and a club with a marvellous history and tradition, is a marvellous draw for us.

“It's the first time for the club in the third round and it's a great chance for the local community to support it on their doorstep. To play against Derby will be a wonderful day.”

After the thrilling win over Rochdale, proud Harvey said: “Because of the size of the budget and the resources we have, this is a terrific achievement.

“I am pleased because we've had a tough three months.

“That was an excellent result for the whole team and the club. The performance was excellent.

“Terry Burton hasn't actually had a lot of work to do. We defended very well and when we got the second goal it was a case of not making any mistakes.”

On-loan Cheltenham Town winger Josh Low played a part in the first goal before scoring the second.

He said: “You expect Rochdale to put a bit of pressure on you, they're a good side and they're doing well in the league this year and we did well.”

“It was good to go 1-0 up and we took that into the second half and to get the second goal was vital.”

Midfielder Jonathon Smith, scorer of Forest Green's first goal, believes the last two weeks is the start of a turnaround in the team's fortunes.

Smith, who fought off an overnight sick bug to play, said: “Maybe it (the FA Cup) is less pressure but we had a good result before (1-0 win against Mansfield) which I think helped us.

“Hopefully now we can start getting up that league.”