By Ben Campbell

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The Blues will find out who they will face in the 1st round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy when the draw is announced on Saturday 16th August, the same day Peter Taylor's men take on Chester City at the Deva Stadium. 

The 1st round draw along with the other rounds will be made live on Sky Sports' 'Soccer Am' programme and the first game in the competition will take place the week commencing 1st September.

However, the Blues may receive a free pass to the 2nd round when the round 1 byes are announced on the Football League website this Friday, 8th August.

The full list of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy draw dates are as follows:

Round 1 - Saturday 16 August 2008
Round 2 - Saturday 6 September 2008
Area Quarter-Final - Saturday 11 October 2008
Area Semi-Final - Saturday 8 November 2008

And the games will be played on the following dates:

Round 1 - w/c 1 September 2008
Round 2 - w/c 6 October 2008
Area Quarter-Final - w/c 3 November 2008
Area Semi-Final - w/c 15 December 2008
Area Final 1st leg - w/c 19 January 2009
Area Final 2nd leg - w/c 16 February 2009
Final - 5 April 2009

To watch the action from the Blues' game with Southend - click here.