WARREN Cummings insists Cherries must pull out all the stops in order to justify their tag as odds-on favourites to progress in the FA Cup.

Cummings is in line to make a belated debut in the competition when Cherries host Division 3 underdogs Bristol Rovers in the first round tomorrow.

The Scotsman's previous attempts to win his FA Cup spurs during a loan spell with Cherries three years ago were blocked by his parent club, Chelsea.

But, having now signed permanently, the 23-year-old defender will be hoping to help Cherries overcome the Pirates when he makes his 50th appearance for the club.

Cherries are priced by Coral at 1-2 to beat Rovers inside 90 minutes, while the visitors are rated as 5-1 outsiders with the draw on offer at 12-5.

Cummings said: "I have always been wary of being on the wrong end of a giant-killing and hopefully it is something I will never experience in my career.

"We had two tough games against Bristol Rovers last season and they are a very capable team. Obviously people will be saying we are the favourites, but we will have to play to our capabilities to win, otherwise there could be a minor shock.

"We are not a team who can sit back and relax and just hope the result goes for us. We really do have to work for every result and tomorrow will be no different, otherwise we could find ourselves out of the competition."

The winners of all first round ties will bank £12,500 with a further £15,000 and the possibility of facing one of the big guns from the Premiership at stake for progressing into the third round in January.

Cummings added: "There's something about the FA Cup and regardless of who's playing who, there's always the possibility of a shock, irrespective of how many millions one team may have spent on players.

"It might be different if you were involved against these teams over a league season, but because it's a one-off, there's no reason why you can't win if you play to your capabilities."

Cummings, who did not feature in the Scottish FA Cup during his spell with Dundee United, added: "Everybody knows how special the FA Cup is. It's got a great tradition and regardless of being Scottish, I think everybody all over the world knows how big it is and I can't wait to play in the competition."