Neil Harris is in his second spell in charge of Cambridge United [Getty Images]BBCWed, December 3, 2025 at 11:58 AM UTC·2 min readCambridge United boss Neil Harris believes their Vertu Trophy exit is a "blessing" because of their packed fixture list.
The U's were beaten 4-2 on penalties by Bristol Rovers after coming from two goals down to draw 2-2 in their last 32 game, but Harris wants to keep their main focus firmly on the league.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHis side are away to Stockport County in the FA Cup second round on Saturday and then have a further 12 matches to squeeze in before the end of January.
"We have got so many games in December and January, being out of the competition is a blessing," he told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
"It's not about Saturday either, not about Stockport, as much as we are hugely respectful to the best cup competition in the world, it's all about Tuesday against Chesterfield and the following Saturday against MK Dons.
"What people have to realise is that we have got injuries at the moment and players that can't put consecutive games together over a period, so people might be surprised by the team selection at the weekend, but my job is to make sure I have the best team available against Chesterfield next Tuesday."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementListen to full Neil Harris interview (BBC Radio Cambridgeshire)
Despite falling behind to two goals inside the first 20 minutes at the Memorial Stadium, Harris insisted Cambridge were clearly the dominant team on the night against Rovers.
"We were outstanding, we were by miles the better team - it should have been 15-0," the former Millwall boss said.
"We gave two really poor goals away where we just shot ourselves in the foot and gave ourselves a mountain to climb, but we hung in there, we created numerous chances, fought back late and took it to penalties.
"Ultimately, I see this as another game unbeaten, the penalty shootout is a little bit irrelevant. We're out of the competition and it's not hugely disappointing for me that, I've got to be honest.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"There were some good individual performances, minutes for players to top their minutes up, I'm pleased with the goalscorers, the impact from the bench was excellent... loads of positives, no negatives."
He added: "It's on to Saturday now against Stockport - another competition where we can go and have a free hit at them."
