SCUNTHORPE United have already beaten Accrington Stanley once this summer – in the battle to secure the services of talented midfielder Jimmy Ryan.

And the one-time Stanley ace is determined to ensure he returns to the Crown Ground tonight to help the Iron do the same again.

Ryan was on holiday when the draw for the first round of the Carling Cup was made, at a time when he was in limbo, still to make a final decision on whether to remain with his friends in Lancashire, or take a trip into the unknown of League One with United.

"It's always the way," said the 22-year-old, philosophically, of the tie.

But while the players may have changed, with a host of last season's play-off semi-finalists joining Ryan at pastures new, the temptation to regard Stanley as one of the Football League's minnows remains.

Ryan has seen all too often how such a tactic plays into the home side's hands.

So he has already warned his new team-mates about the danger of naivety ahead of what is the Iron's first-ever trip to the Crown Ground.

"I know how hard it's going to be – you can't underestimate them," Ryan told the Telegraph of Stanley.

"I think a lot of teams came to Accrington last year and underrated us.

"When you look at the ground and the changing rooms, it's easy for people to think 'they aren't going to be any good'.

"I've been there when big clubs have come and thought 'oh my God' but Accrington will always do their best.

"Last year we were one of the best footballing sides in League Two and they'll be the same this year.

"If you don't know what Accrington are like, you'll be in for a shock.

"They'll surprise a lot of people who haven't seen them play."

Ryan is quick to play down the culture shock of appearing at the 5,000 capacity Crown Ground, despite having been a junior at Liverpool 12 months prior to his arrival at Accrington.

"You don't focus on the facilities, they just helped team bonding and create more of a togetherness," he said on the subject.

But then most players given a chance to pull on one of the country's most renowned red jerseys do so with immense pride given they are, so often, fulfilling a dream of becoming a professional footballer.

Like with Ryan, and Iron team-mate Bobby Grant, Stanley's success since being promoted back into the Football League five years ago has been built on long-serving manager John Coleman's ability to pick up players for next to nothing and turn them into stars.

It is a task he has virtually had to take on every summer, with financial constraints and short contracts forcing him to rebuild year on year as good players move on to a higher level.

"He did it last year when we lost Bobby (Grant) and Michael Symes and this summer he's had to do it again," Ryan explained of his former manager.

"But every year he goes and finds someone to replace whoever leaves and I think he'll keep doing it too.

"This year he's brought in a few lads who I know are good players. He knows a lot of local lads and young lads coming through.

"It's always going to be tough when it comes to holding on to good players, but not just for Accrington – I think most lower league teams are in the same position.

"If a player does well and then a big club comes in and offers them a chance to play in the Championship, it's hard for the player to turn it down.

"It's going to be hard, but if they keep building like they have in the past few years, they can be a League One club sooner or later.

"Who knows, then they might be able to kick on from there."

Ryan is hoping for a good reception tonight – having scored 24 goals during three years as a Stanley stalwart – but insists the main thing is 'I play well'.

He was part of the Stanley team that gave Premier League side Newcastle United a fright in last season's Carling Cup, so is also keen for Scunthorpe to progress and build on the optimism born from Saturday's impressive display at Wycombe Wanderers.

"We were happy with the way we played on Saturday and hopefully we can take that into tonight and then Saturday," added the former Republic of Ireland Under-21 international.

"We've set the benchmark now. We weren't the finished article at Wycombe, but it's something to build on.

"You'd rather have the chances and miss them than not create any, but we'll work on finishing them in front of goal so we can take advantage.

"If we'd have gone 1-0 up, or taken the lead at any point, I really think we'd have kicked on.

"Wycombe are a very good side and use the ball well, but on Saturday we were the better side by quite a bit."

United will need to be exactly the same again, if they are to make it into round two tonight.