The Norwich defender will return to his old club Peterborough in the third round for his first competitive game there since leaving for Carrow Road last January.
And that pitches him against Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson, the boss who gave him his big break in the game.
Ferguson signed him from Grimsby while in the first of his two spells at London Road and Bennett admits he owes his Premier League status to the son of Manchester United manager Sir Alex.
Bennett said: "I owe more to him than the club. He was the one that gave me the opportunity to step up from League Two into the Championship. Working with him taught me a lot in terms of being a professional and as a person.
"He opened my eyes a lot to how hard you needed to work to be where you wanted to be.
"Then he left and we had a lot of different managers and things didn't really go my way. There was talk of me leaving because the (new) manager didn't really fancy me.
"That's football. Football is about opinions and his (Ferguson's) opinion is obviously quite high of me and I will thank him for that until the day I retire.
"When he came back, he showed faith in me again. It turned out to be one of the most successful times I've had in my career so far. I owe a lot to him."
The 22-year-old played 74 matches for Peterborough, scoring six goals, and while he was utilised there mainly as a central defender, his favourite position, he has filled in as a full-back at Norwich.
On Saturday he will be charged with combating the attacking verve of the Championship side who have eased out of the relegation zone with three wins in their last four matches.
A result is just as important for Norwich, however, who have lost their last four Premier League games after going 10 matches unbeaten.
Norwich manager Chris Hughton wants to give a chance to some peripheral members of his squad and revealed Declan Rudd will play in goal.
Norwich, however, will be without injured strikers Grant Holt and Steve Morison as they look to return to winning ways with a crucial Premier League match against Newcastle coming up in a week's time.
Hughton said: "I will use the squad because we have got real good competition and there are players who have been unfortunate not to have played more games. It (the FA Cup) possibly has lost a little bit, but it is still a competition we want to make progress in."
No one would be more pleased than Bennett to get one over on his former team-mates and a manager he believes one day will be plying his trade in the Premier League, like his famous father.
Asked whether Darren Ferguson could cut it at football's top level, Bennett said: "Definitely. He picks young lads out and develops them and that is what big clubs want.
"I played for him for two years and I heard him mention his dad's name once and that was only because he was at the game that day.
"He's very much his own man. He has his own ideas and coaching staff. He doesn't bring many players in and doesn't have many favours from his dad. He plays his own way.
"He's done a good job at Peterborough bringing the young lads through and is very good at maturing that talent."
Post Comment
