GEORGE Burley was still pondering his Derby side's narrow 2-1 defeat at Portman Road the previous day when he tuned in to Sunday's FA Cup third round draw.

GEORGE Burley was still pondering his Derby side's narrow 2-1 defeat at Portman Road the previous day when he tuned in to Sunday's FA Cup third round draw.

And he admitted today: "I was absolutely astonished when the two sides came out together – it's not what you expect but it's incredible how things sometimes work out in football.

"We've just had two games against Ipswich within the space of a month and now we're playing them again in less than three weeks.

"We were visiting friends in Ipswich when the draw came on television and like every other manager I was hoping for a home tie.

"To have drawn a top Premiership side at Pride Park would have suited us fine. We'd have filled the ground.

"You have to be realistic – it's unlikely that you are going to win the trophy – so you hope that you will be able to generate a bit of revenue.

"But instead we are going to be away and at Ipswich. It's amazing what can happen, but you have to take what the draw gives you."

Burley is likely to return with a new-look Rams side on January for what will be the first-ever FA Cup clash between the clubs.

Stars who were absent at the weekend, like 16-year-old midfielder Tom Huddlestone and striker Lee Morris, are likely to be fit by then.

And Burley has a number of targets in mind after the club's new owners cleared the way for him to bring in reinforcements.

He explained: "I have spoken to the new consortium that has taken over. They realise we are really short and that we need to bring in new players.

"We have already used six loan players this season but I am

hoping to have one or two new faces in the team before we come back to Portman Road.

"But there are a number of league games to be played before then. We have a very busy period coming up before we start to focus on the FA Cup."

Burley has been encouraged by his team's recent run, Saturday's defeat ending a four-game unbeaten sequence.

He added: "It's a very difficult draw for us, but we have had two very tight league games against Ipswich.

"We went two up at Pride Park and they got back to draw, then Saturday's game was fairly tight again. The two goals they scored were very poor from our point of view.

"I would certainly hope that we would give a better account of ourselves in the FA Cup game."

FA CUP DRAW: Wimbledon v Stoke, Cardiff v Sheff Utd, Wycombe or Mansfield v Burnley, Crewe v Telford, Bristol City or Barnsley v Scunthorpe or Sheff Wed, Portsmouth v Blackpool, Northampton v Rotherham, Fulham v Cheltenham, Man City v Leicester, Southampton v Newcastle, Yeovil v Liverpool, Birmingham v Blackburn, Nottm Forest v West Brom, Watford v Chelsea, Kidderminster v Wolverhampton, Gillingham v Charlton, Swansea v Macclesfield or Cambridge Utd, Leeds v Arsenal, Tottenham v Crystal Palace, Aston Villa v Man Utd, Southend v Scarborough, Sunderland v Hartlepool, Tranmere v Bolton, Preston v Reading, Wigan v West Ham, Middlesbrough v Notts Co, Ipswich v Derby, Coventry v Peterborough, Everton v Norwich, Bournemouth or Accrington Stanley v Colchester, Bradford v Luton, Millwall v Walsall.

Ties to be played January 3-4.