Opposition skipper: Stevie was my hero

Tommy is a childhood Liverpool fan, but there are no uncertainties as to where his allegiances will lie this afternoon - he's determined to stage a dramatic giant-killing on the south coast in the fourth-round encounter.

The 26-year-old does, however, have some special memories of supporting the Reds in the FA Cup down the years and he's perfectly placed to run the rule over today's clash, offering fresh perspective from inside both camps...

How did you feel when the draw was made and Liverpool were paired with Bournemouth?

I felt great, to be honest. The draw took place before our game against Burton Albion, which was moved due to a waterlogged pitch, so we weren't sure how things were going to pan out. But they don't come bigger than Liverpool, especially for people down here in the south and a few of the lads in our changing room. When that draw was made, it was a great feeling and it gave us added incentive to win the tie against Burton.

What's the mood been like around the town ahead of the game?

It's been buzzing. When a club like Liverpool come to town, it's massive. We haven't got the biggest capacity here and the demand for tickets has been really high - I think the fans have been queuing for tickets for a long time. The lads have been on their game in training this week, so hopefully it should be a good spectacle.

Tell us why this is such a huge game for you personally...

You always want to play against the best players in the world and I think in Luis Suarez, Liverpool have one of them. As a boyhood fan, I grew up watching the likes of Steven Gerrard, so to be playing against your heroes is massive.

Liverpool last won the FA Cup in 2006 - you were 18 at the time - what are your memories of that?

It was against West Ham. I remember the late goal from Gerrard to make it 3-3. Liverpool were massive favourites on the day and they probably made it a little bit harder for themselves than they needed to, but every FA Cup game is like that, no matter who you are playing against. So if we can make it hard for Liverpool today, that'll be great. While I'm desperate, as a fan, for Liverpool to win a trophy, I just hope it's not the FA Cup this year!

For Reds fans who don't know too much about Bournemouth, what can they expect from them during today's game?

We've got a young, progressive squad and a manager who has great ambitions, which matches that of the chairman. We're in the process of establishing ourselves as a solid Championship team. We're going about that the right way this season. We can draw inspiration from the likes of Liverpool, because we like to get the ball down and play and start moves from our 'keeper. So there are some similarities in the way the two teams play. It should be an interesting game. It'll be a chance for us to see how far we are off the likes of Liverpool.

How are you feeling about potentially being tasked with snuffing out the danger of the Barclays Premier League's leading scorer, Luis Suarez?

He's someone I think all kids can take great inspiration from. I think he's a marvellous talent. Sometimes his will to win and his ambition gets misunderstood. That hunger and desire; you can't teach it to kids - that's something that comes from within. If any young aspiring footballer wants to watch a player, and someone who's in form at the moment, it's got to be Suarez.

How do you stop him?

Through hard work! We've done a lot of work this week, not only on stopping Suarez, but on stopping Liverpool. They've got an array of talent and some world-class players. It's going to be a difficult task for us.

As a Liverpool fan, is the thought of leading your team out at Anfield in a replay a dream of yours?

Any home game we play, we try to win, so we're not approaching this one any differently. Growing up, Liverpool were my team and so to lead a team out at Anfield would be special. But let's just get Saturday out of the way first.

Can Bournemouth cause problems for Liverpool?

It's the FA Cup and that's what makes it magical. We're a Championship team and we've seen very regularly that Championship teams can do well against Premier League sides, so I don't see why we can't do our best.