Cheltenham Town boss Martin Allen is trying not to think about the possibility of facing Aston Villa in the FA Cup as he seeks to concentrate on the club's relegation battle.

"You would not be human if you were not excited about the prospect," he said.

"It would be a great occasion if Aston Villa came to play us at Whaddon Road.

"But there is a lot of football before we get there and we have a Championship club (Doncaster Rovers) to beat first.

"It is exciting – we can't hide from that, but the main competition is the 10-month one. We have lots of games and points to go for and there is a lot of work to be done.

"Playing Villa would be great for the supporters and would generate great interest in the community but the priority is getting ourselves above that line and staying there."

To that end, Allen recruited loanees Chris Westwood and Lewis Montrose, and is hoping that his injury list clears up soon.

Defenders Drissa Diallo and Shane Duff, midfielders John Finnigan and Dave Bird and striker Damian Spencer are all ruled out, with little prospect of any of them being fit to face Millwall at Whaddon Road on Saturday.

"Shane Duff is not ready for a comeback," said Allen. "He is training but he is not entirely right.

"He has not played a reserve game and we have to monitor his Achilles and I will not rush him back. He is still a way off."

Diallo, now signed up on an 18-month permanent deal, has also been a big loss after an impressive start to his Cheltenham career.

It is still unclear how long the 36-year-old Frenchman will be out for, but he is not training – and neither is club skipper Finnigan, battling a heel problem.

Bird and Spencer seem the closest to a potential return from shin and knee problems respectively.

"John and Drissa are leaders and with them we have a much stronger team," said Allen. "Alex Russell is back now and I had to put him straight back in but he is looking fitter and stronger.

"The same is true of Elvis Hammond, who had not played in a long time when he came here.

"It was a gamble to bring him in, but I thought he would be good value.

"He needs matches, but after two or three weeks' training I threw him in and it was a big demand for him.

"I also played him wide, which made it even bigger as I know he can be very sharp in the 18-yard box, and that's where we need to see him ideally."

Hammond scored his first Robins goal in the 6-3 defeat by Peterborough on December 28 and has joined Diallo in signing a permanent 18-month deal.

"His match fitness is coming back and he was brilliant in an 11 v 11 game we had on the Astroturf at Hartpury College last Sunday," said Allen.

"He scored a hat-trick and some of his touches were quality. That is what we will get with him and it will come in time.

"Ashley Vincent is also looking confident and playing with good self-belief.

"That will ooze its way through to the others and I have a good group of players here who have a good mental set.

"Since that game at Hereford, their attitude has been spot on.

"We have lost the likes of Scott Murray, Josh Payne and Barry Hayles and suffered further injuries but I am trying to gel them all together again."