Falling attendances and weakened teams have dogged the competition in recent years, leading to suggestions the Football Association could introduce changes such as scrapping replays and seeding teams in an effort to revitalise it.

A prime example was Bolton's 1-0 victory over Wigan in a fourth-round replay on Wednesday, which was witnessed by less than 8,000 people.

But, with more than 3,000 of those coming to support Wanderers, Coyle has no doubts the club's fans share his passion for the cup.

He said: "All I can say about the crowd the other night was that our crowd were absolutely fantastic from start to finish.

"The Bolton fans were right behind our team, they were vocal, they were there in large numbers, and we were away from home. We had nearly half the crowd so I think it shows you the Bolton fans certainly love the FA Cup."

In a further blow for the competition, this weekend will see a mixture of fifth-round ties and fourth-round replays played at the same time while the final will be on the same day as a number of Barclays Premier League fixtures.

Coyle accepts the demands of European football on the fixture calendar have left less room for the FA Cup but he has urged the FA not to tinker with its flagship tournament.

He said: "For me, the FA Cup is the best cup competition in world football and globally everybody still loves the FA Cup and the magic that goes with it. You ask Crawley Town, they'll tell you how magical the FA Cup is.

"I hope it stays the same format, I really do. Sometimes it's the FA Cup that keeps the smaller clubs afloat so I think we have to look at the bigger picture and realise who changes would affect from top to bottom."

As if to demonstrate his point, Coyle reeled off the details of his best cup run to date, which came when he was a player at Bolton in 1993/94.

After the Scot netted twice to help the club avoid an embarrassing first-round defeat against Gretna, Bolton beat the likes of Everton, Arsenal and Aston Villa to reach the quarter-finals before falling to then Premier League Oldham.

The Trotters have the chance to match that tomorrow but Coyle knows it will not be easy against a Fulham side who have not lost at home since Boxing Day and who have recent cup pedigree after making the final of the Europa League last season.

He said: "We know it's a great chance and they'll know that as well, particularly the players who were there last year and had that terrific run in Europe.

"We'd have loved the game to be at the Reebok but it's not so we'll have to make sure we're at our best. Fulham have terrific individual players and as a unit are a very strong team.

"It'll be a tough game but Fulham will accept that Bolton are a good side and will look to cause them some problems as well. It's tasty, it'll be two teams very positive trying to win the game on the day and I think it makes for a very good match."

The Cottagers have turned their form around after a shaky start under Mark Hughes, which included only one win in their first nine games, and now sit 12th in the table.

Coyle added: "Mark Hughes is a terrific manager; he always has been and he always will be. Earlier in the season I couldn't believe the criticism that was levelled at Fulham because we all knew they'd had some bad injuries to key players.

"For me there was no doubt that Fulham were going to click into gear. They've certainly done that now and we'll have to make sure we're ready."

Coyle will be without defenders Zat Knight (knee) and Sam Ricketts, who has been ruled out for the season after rupturing his Achilles against Wigan, while Daniel Sturridge is cup-tied.