Terry Brown has taken a potshot at other managers by insisting he will treat the FA Cup as seriously as any other game this campaign.
The AFC Wimbledon boss will take his side to Basingstoke Town this Saturday as they bid to make the First Round Proper for the third straight season.
And Brown reveals he will never go down the route of playing a weakened side like so many of his counterparts.
He said: "I think the sad truth is a lot of managers nowadays have lost touch with the fans and what games mean to them.
"As a fan the FA Cup is one of the real highlights of the year, especially if you are a lower league club.
"It is the one day of the season that smaller sides can dream about playing a big club, and even beating them.
"That is even more the case with Wimbledon's history and I am well aware of how massive a competition the FA Cup is for Wimbledon fans.
"That is why I said October is a massive month for us and I stand by that."
Stage one of the October mission has been successfully completed, after the Dons returned to the Blue Square Premier summit with Saturday's 1-0 defeat of Gateshead.
And, after seeing Ismail Yakubu's strike earn a precious three points, the Wimbledon manager reckons his side's character is really shining through.
Brown added: "To do well in any competition we need to grind out results, and we did that.
"Defensively, we were really solid, and we restricted them to the one chance, but we didn't create too many clear-cut chances ourselves.
"We needed to focus on ensuring that we got back to winning ways at home.
"Gateshead are one of the best footballing sides in this league, we tried to stop them playing.
"I'm not embarrassed to be top of the table, and I've told the players not to be too.
"After four or five games, it doesn't mean a thing, but what it means is that we're doing more right things than wrong.
"With this bunch of lads, I know they've got character, so we'll keep fighting."
AFC Wimbledon's next three matches: Oct 23 Basingstoke Town (FAC, a), 30 Darlington (h), Nov 9 Altrincham (a)
