GUUS Hiddink doesn’t need telling what Bradford City did to Chelsea in the FA Cup last season – but he’s reminded his players.
 |
| Gus Hiddink took Chelsea to FA Cup glory in his previous spell in charge in 2009 |
The Dutchman wasn’t in this country at the time but the shockwaves from that 4-2 home defeat reverberated round the world.
That’s why he has taken every opportunity to warn the players to beware another FA Cup banana skin.
Given Chelsea’s Premier League season, the importance of the FA Cup is not lost on Hiddink – and he insists his players are aware of it too. There may be one or two changes today but Chelsea will be taking no chances.
The interim boss said: “We take this game seriously, and when we see the intensity and seriousness of the players in training we don’t have doubt about that.
“They are not going into this as if this is a game we have to play. No, they are eager to play.
“The people around me have the same experience as well. Steve Holland (coach) is doing a great job. He is very aware of not falling into the trap for the second time.”
Hiddink is likely to give a couple of younger squad players a run-out but there will not be wholesale changes.
He said: “I’m getting a good vision on the players, particularly the young players, and when it is convenient I will not hesitate to bring them in, providing they bring quality.
“On the other hand, we take this FA Cup seriously. I am not changing five, six, seven players to bring in five, six, seven players from the academy.”
That doesn’t worry Scunthorpe, who go to Stamford Bridge dreaming of repeating Bradford’s round four win.
Defender Scott Laird, who scored for Preston against Manchester United in last season’s FA Cup, said: “We have to go there believing we can win. The FA Cup is made for upsets. It’s do-able They’re only human.”
Laird, who was in the Stevenage team that beat Newcastle in 2011 and took Tottenham to a replay, believes Chelsea could be edgy today.
“Nobody is going to expect us to win but you saw what Bradford did there,” he said. “I will tell the lads to take it in and enjoy it. There is no point waiting to be beaten and letting it all pass you by.”
The tie will be televised in 115 countries and, luckily for Scunthorpe’s vice-resident, South Africa is one. The Iron’s famous son Sir Ian Botham will find time between the England cricket team’s Tests to concentrate on his main football love.
Botham made 11 League appearances for the club in the 1980s as an uncompromising centre-half. Now a cricket commentator, his first tweet of 2016 from South Africa was a wish to see the Iron promoted.
Botham said of today’s tie: “This is a massive game, especially financially. You could be talking between £600,000 and £700,000.”
Some of those who missed out on the club’s 3,000 tickets will watch the game in the Sir Ian Botham Executive Lounge at Glanford Park .
Scunthorpe chief executive Jim Rodwell, whose staff supplied fans queuing for Chelsea tickets with free tea and coffee, said: “We look at Bradford last season and they’ve got to be an inspiration for us.”
Manager Mark Robins knows only too well how inspiring an FA Cup run can be. Hardly a day goes by without the former Manchester United striker being reminded of his goal which probably saved Sir Alex Ferguson’s Old Trafford job.
Talk was that the Scot could be out of a job if his struggling side lost their third-round tie at Nottingham Forest in 1990. Robins scored the winner at the City Ground and United went on to lift the trophy that season, kick-starting Fergie’s golden years.
Robin said: “It’s a great story as the manager went on to have unbelievable success. I was oblivious to how important the goal was at the time. I was a young kid scoring my second goal for the club I had supported as a boy. That was enough.”
Success at Chelsea will create new heroes. The biggest will watch from South Africa.
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook Disqus