This could be another tough weekend for football - and the FA Cup.

But Graham Potter is keen to keep things in the right context as Albion prepare to visit Newport County.

Third-round ties will be affected with Covid taking hold of the nation again.

Shrewsbury’s trip to Southampton has already gone while Derby and Aston Villa are ravaged by the virus.

Villa have today confirmed they WILL host Liverpool tonight but have reported a significant outbreak among their first-team squad.

Derby boss Wayne Rooney, his assistant Liam Rosenior and senior players will miss their trip to Chorley, where under-23s and 18s will turn out for the Rams.

There are even questions from some over whether the great old competition should be scrapped this season.

The FA Cup has already lost a lot of its prestige within the domestic club game.

Asked whether this is an important weekend for the cup, Potter replied: “When you say the word important, in the context of what’s going on in the world at the moment, it’s not life or death. It’s the FA Cup, that’s the reality.

“Of course from a football perspective, we want to play the games because I don’t think having a backlog of games is necessarily going to help anybody.

“But I also say that during this time when we’re going to get postponements, you always have to act within the best interests of society, the communities we are in and the health of people.

“Football becomes a little bit secondary and that’s where we are at at the moment. For us to sit here as an industry and say we’re more important than anything else is, I think, very foolish.

“We have to do our best to play the games, sticking to the rules, sticking to the protocols and rules, trying to be healthy and safe. Then we will do whatever the people think is the best thing for us to do.”

Elite sport remains in progress, despite toughened restrictions in all walks of life.

But not all matches are going ahead.

Potter said: “I think we’re incredibly fortunate to be in this position because there’s a lot of industries that have been forced to close and stop but we’re carrying on.

“People often refer to pressure whereas, to me, you take a look at the news, see people work on the front line, in the NHS with Covid and in the hospitals and I think: ‘that’s pressure.’ “We’re fortunate and, whilst we want to fight for points, win matches and do our best, there’s always an element of perspective that you need to have.”

Albion continue to take all possible precautions to combat Covid although is understood there have been cases at the club away from the playing staff.

As things stand, it is hard not to feel the same sense of forboding as was apparent back in March.

Potter said: “We want games to go on, we want to play the games but none of us have been in this situation before, none of us have lived through this, who knows what next week will look like. No-one knows.

“You can see from how the Government has been dealing with this situation, it’s an ever-changing situation depending on how the virus reacts and this is ultimately is the world we are living in at the moment.

“Whilst I think I agree that we want to play the games, get them all done, there’s a bigger thing going on and we have to adapt to that.”

Potter said Albion had made sure their players were fully aware of what they should be doing to minimise their chances of infection.

He said: “Of course you try to remind them, speak to them. You have to remember they are human beings.

“Sometimes human beings make mistakes but we also want to try to help them, educate them and help them live through these difficult times and understand their position and their privileged position and their fortune - which I think they do - but it’s good to remind everybody.”

Potter could not say he had no Covid-related concerns about the trip to Rodney Parade.

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But he has no more misgivings than for any other match.

EFL clubs such as League Two high-flyers Newport have been tested going into the ties.

That will continue through the league season thanks to funding from the PFA.

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Potter said: “I can’t say anything more than the concerns we normally have generally in terms of where we are at as a country, as a society, a nation and a world.

“Newport have gone through the tests so it’s just like any other game for us.

“But clearly we are all aware of the situation outside of football, but we have no specific concerns for Newport.”