It is the seventh time in eight seasons that United have featured in the FA Cup Third Round and the trip to Europe chasers Manchester City is one that Laws is relishing.
Last year the Iron were handed a similar draw to face Premiership leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge but United didn't roll over as people expected them to - in fact they took a shock lead and had numerous other opportunities before going down 3-1 to a very fortunate Blues side.
"We went to Chelsea and no-one gave us any sort of chance at all," Laws told BBC Sport.
"But we gave them a real shock - we scored first, hit the post and missed an open goal and they only sealed it when they brought the big guns on."
Although he is hopeful that his side can cause an upset, he is being realistic ahead of the trip to face Stuart Pearce's men.
"However, we don't go into the competition to win it. We're realistic - we just want to go as far as we possibly can so we can meet teams like this and financially provide a boost for the club," he added.
"And we want the players to enjoy it. We'll stay in a hotel overnight and make a real day of it - days like this don't come around too often for League One clubs."
