Bolton Wanderers Women travel to Tranmere Rovers this Sunday for the third qualifying round of the Women's FA Cup, the last hurdle before the first round proper.
Cunniff's side head into the tie with their perfect record intact after a 12-2 League Cup win away to Morecambe last weekend. The head coach took plenty of positives from the performance, but he knows the margins get tighter from here and the early lapse and late concentration dip at Morecambe cannot follow his players to Tranmere.
Same preparation, whatever the opposition
Cunniff rotated heavily for the trip, with one or two regulars not travelling, but insists the preparation stayed exactly the same.
"We didn't prepare any differently than if we were playing a team in the division above us," he said. "We did rotate the team quite a lot, but we know how strong our squad is. We knew our squad was capable of beating anyone on the day, and they did that."
Wanderers fell behind inside the first minute, conceding after just 50 seconds, and Cunniff did not hide from it.
"We started really sloppily and switched off," he admitted. "Some players were making their first starts for a while, so they were just getting into the game. Once we settled down, we moved the ball better. It took a little while to get the breakthrough, but as soon as we did, it was dominant.
"There were some really good goals. For one of them, every single outfield player passed the ball. It doesn't matter who we play, as long as we stick to our principles and keep doing what we're doing every game. We're really pleased with how we reacted to the goal and how we played overall."
Staying switched on for 90
Annabelle White captained the side and Morecambe became the only team to score twice against Wanderers this season.
"It's frustrating," said Cunniff. "In games like that, when the game's won after a certain amount of time, it's hard to stay concentrated for 90 minutes. We continue to try and stay switched on for 90."
Lucy Walsh leads the side as club captain, with Annabelle, Molly Wood and Lizzy Hamer-Brown forming the wider leadership group. With Annabelle the only one of the four to start at Morecambe, the armband was an easy call.
"It was very well deserved," said Cunniff. "It's not the first time, she did it a couple of times in pre-season. She's brilliant as a captain, very well respected by her teammates and the staff and she's a massive player for us."
Goals from everywhere
Naomi Lawrence was among the scorers, adding to a season in which the goals have come from right across the squad. Abbie Brown has scored four in a game, Molly five in another and Cunniff sees that spread as a real strength.
"It's a good headache to have," he said. "You saw from our bench, with Abbie and Molly coming on and making a big impact again.
"Naomi is a proper poacher-style striker who scores anything around the box. Same with Ella Tweedle, who scored a hat-trick. Molly was unlucky not to start, she'd started every game up until then. We know we'll continue to have goals across the team because we won't just rely on one person. We'll always rotate at the right times.
"The formation allowed us to play two strikers. That might not always be the case, but it's a good headache because we know how good Naomi and Ella are and we've got players on the bench who have usually been starting."
There was also a welcome second debut for Katie Holt.
"It took a little bit of time to get into it, which is normal and then she looked really good, with really good distribution," said Cunniff.
"She got her first 45 minutes, which we'll continue to build on. She shows her quality in training all the time. It's just getting that match fitness and match sharpness and we will get there."
Tranmere: a tough test
Wanderers beat Tranmere at home last season and drew away and Cunniff expects another difficult afternoon.
"At their place it's very difficult. It's a very narrow pitch, which doesn't necessarily suit us, but we're confident. We'll go there with a game plan like we always do for every team.
"They've had a mixed start to the season, but I don't think that's where they'll finish. They've got a very good coach and some good players. They're a well-established tier five team and have been there for a while, so they're very experienced.
"We're confident we can win, but we know it'll be tough. We care a lot about the FA Cup. We're desperate to win and build momentum going into the league the week after."
Victory would take Wanderers into the first round proper, where the draw opens up significantly.