It has been so long since Bristol City last reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup that Bermudian Clyde Best was still playing at West Ham United the last time they achieved it in 1974.

The Hammers won the Cup in 1975, before Best left Upton Park the next season. Now another Bermudian, Nahki Wells, will be looking for cup success with the Robins when they travel to meet Sheffield United in the fifth round of the competition this evening, in a game that will be televised on ESPN at 3.30pm Bermuda time.

The match will be a welcome distraction from the league for City who have lost their past three matches in the Sky Bet Championship to fall off the promotion race. Now they get the chance to test themselves against a Premier League side, albeit that Sheffield United are bottom of the top flight and well cut adrift.

Dean Holden, the City manager, is challenging his players to lift their performance levels tonight at Bramall Lane after losses to Derby County, Brentford and Cardiff City in their past three outings. .

“It’s a fantastic game for us against a Premier League team,” Holden told Robins TV yesterday.

“It’s been a long week with some honest conversations with the players and now it’s about action. I’m really looking forward to showing what we’re about because we’ve let ourselves down recently. This is a great time to respond and it’s a great game.”

Holden added: “It’s a brilliant game for us. It doesn’t matter whether it’s played on a weekend or Wednesday night; it’s an evening game under the lights, on a good surface up there and it’s a chance for us to pit our wits against them, so who knows in a cup competition.

“We have to prove to ourselves and our supporters. There were some angry fans after the weekend and rightly so, because we share the same feelings. We were nowhere near the levels for a derby game and now four days later we have to prove what we’re about, get to our best and that’s why I’m looking forward to it.

“Now it’s about everybody stepping up to the plate and showing the best version of themselves, galvanising the man next to them, lift confidence and go out with a point to prove.”

Wells returned to the City line-up for the 2-0 defeat by Cardiff on the weekend, creating a couple of scoring opportunities but failing to add to his season tally of seven goals.

City’s Cup run has included a 2-1 win over Portsmouth in the third round, followed by a 3-0 win away to Millwall in the fourth round on January 23, their first away win since December 1 against Queens Park Rangers.

“It can give you momentum, it gives you the feel-good factor, everyone loves a good cup competition and it’s a one-off on the night,” Holden said.

“We’ll go there very positive, looking to get a positive result and kick-start our season.”

Sheffield United were made to wait until January for their first win of the season, but come into the cup-tie in good form, their highlight of a disappointing season being a 2-1 win away to Manchester United.

“They’ve had a couple of years in the Premier League and did fantastic last season,” Holden said of Chris Wilder’s team. “They won ten games by the odd goal last season but a lot of the games they’ve lost this year have been by the odd goal, so it shows you the fine margins by comparison.

“They’re still a very good team by the way they play, their style and it’s a tough game for us. But it’s one players want to be involved in against a top manager with a good team. It’s about us getting back to our performance levels and showcasing what we are about and that’s why I’m looking forward to it.”