The New Saints boss Scott Ruscoe says he will be naming as strong a side as possible for their Welsh Cup fourth round clash with Aberystwyth Town on Saturday (kick-off 2.30pm).

Saints head into the cup clash knowing who they will have to face in the second phase of the Welsh Premier League, following the release of the fixtures on Monday.

And he expects tougher-than-normal test from the Seasiders.

“We are going to be playing a full strength team because after the cup game on Saturday, we don’t play for two weeks.

“I can’t risk leaving someone like Ryan Brobbel out, who didn’t play last week because of suspension, and if he didn’t play, then he would be out for a month.

“We’ll be strong, no doubt. I think their mentality will be different because it’s a cup game.

“They will sit back to see what we have to offer and if it is tight, then the second half they will have a go at us because it’s not a league game and they have nothing to lose.”

Ruscoe admits he is excited by the prospect of teams taking points off each other in the second phase of the league as Saints look to claim a ninth straight title in the coming months after beating Connah’s Quay Nomads on Saturday.

“They’ve all got to play each other,” he said. “We did extremely well this time last year as we weren’t even top of the league this time last year.

“The players will have to stand up now; they know they have the Welsh Cup, then miss a week because of the League Cup final, but when we do start on February 7, they have to be fired up and ready.

“It was so important to go into that second phase with the cushion. If they had beaten us, or drawn, then it would have only been that one point.

“It gives us a little edge, which you need, going into those 10 games left as it takes a bit of pressure off.”

See inside for the phase two fixtures.