MICKEY Demetriou feared he would miss out on the FA Cup this season after breaking his leg in August so he’s determined to make the most of this afternoon’s third-round tie at Millwall.

The centre-back could only watch on as his Newport County AFC teammates overcame Grimsby Town and Maldon & Tiptree.

But Demetriou returned after 17 weeks on the sidelines for the home draw with Stevenage on December 14 and he’s relishing another crack at the world’s oldest cup competition.

The 29-year-old was forced off with an ankle knock on New Year’s Day but he’s declared himself fit to face Millwall.

“When I first got injured, I was thinking I might miss the FA Cup this year but the boys have done well,” he said.

“I haven’t played in the FA Cup this year so it would be nice to do that, if selected, to keep that record going.

“The leg’s fine and the ankle is feeling good after the knock in midweek.

“We do obviously look forward to it," he added. "It’s a cup that we’ve done very well in recently and we’re going to give it our best shot to do it again.”

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The Lions are in fine form, having climbed to seventh in the Championship, and Demetriou knows that the Exiles are the underdogs today but he’s positive they can upset the odds again.

“It will be a tough game against Millwall,” he said. “They’re doing very well in the league but we won’t fear them. If we fear them then there’s no point in us turning up. We know we’re good enough to do it again.

“You always want to be playing against someone higher [up the pyramid] in the FA Cup because you want to be testing yourself against the best players.

“We’ve got that. They’re just outside the play-offs in the Championship and they’ve got some good players.

“It’s another ground for the fans to visit and hopefully they can get behind us and we can get some kind of result.

“Bringing them back to Rodney Parade would be brilliant for the club, but it would be better if we can get the win and avoid another fixture.

“We’ve got good enough players to do that and the belief is still there that we can go and cause an upset.”

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