Burton boss Gary Bowyer may have more pressing concerns than the FA Cup right now, with Albion set for another battle against relegation.
However the popular League 1 manager insisted this weekend their travails in the Football League would be temporarily placed to one side this weekend as they attempt to make history by reaching the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time.Read every word self-confessed Nottingham Forest fan Bowyer had to say about the challenge posed by the visit of West Ham United below...
Q: Gary, It feels like we've been talking about this picture for quite some time now. It's around the corner. West Ham United at home in the FA Cup fourth round. How much are you looking forward to it?
GB: Yeah, I can't wait. Brilliant. it's exciting for everybody. We give the players a couple of days off after their exploits last week, came in on Tuesday and straight away you could tell 100% it was completely different. A different feel, the energy, and not just in the player's, staff, support staff - everybody. It's a really exciting weekend ahead because you're welcoming Premier League opposition?
Q: Just seen the bake-off tent, as described by Tom the other day, out on the pitch! You've seen people running around here, there, and everywhere since coming through the building. How nice is it to see that whole club effort heading into Saturday?
GB: Oh, it's been a wonderful effort from everybody involved. You know, the club shop tickets and obviously, like you just said there, the tent! I was speaking with Robbo this morning about the condition of the pitch or what sort of state it'll be from being under there, but we've got to make everything to our advantage that we possibly can and if the pitch is not great, then hopefully that might just give us a little bit of help.
Q: You have to look for those little elements?
GB: Yeah, of course, 100%! We'll probably turn up all the radiators as well in their dressing room, that sort of thing. We don't provide kicking in boards anymore, but they would have been heavier. But no, we know the challenge that lies ahead, but the FA Cup's special, and it's special for a reason in these early rounds. Already we've seen this season with Macclesfield, what a wonderful achievement that one was.
We're using sort of like the inspiration of what we did last season when we took over and we came in, everybody was saying it's impossible. They're already down, you're already relegated and we proved that it wasn't impossible. So they're a wonderful team, wonderful manager, being a Forest fan myself and obviously what he did for Nottingham Forest and getting them in Europe. I'm fully aware of that.
I'm hopeful that after the Manchester United's game, he sent Bowen, Somerville and about nine others to Dubai for some warm weather training and left him there for the weekend but if he hasn't, it's poor man management from his side. There are, they're a wonderful squad, wonderful talents and their academy produces unbelievable players as we've seen throughout the years. So even if he does decide to, you know, rest a few, we know that the level of replacement is going to be sky high as well.
Q: Do you even have to get the players up for it when they know who's coming to town?
GB: I'll let you know on Saturday! You can just feel it, the biggest challenge for me is obviously going to be picking the starting 11 because I'll have 20 - it's amazing with the injuries coming, and it's not due to the quality of physio being replaced or anything like that, it's that magic of that FA Cup! So yeah, I'll be picking the right team and obviously we've got to remember that we've got a league game on Tuesday as well.
Q: We're sitting in a stadium that was largely built off of a very good FA Cup run against Manchester United. I understand you've been talking to the players about that and showing them that. Can you just tell us a little bit about that?
GB: Yeah, we've just been showing them Cup upsets throughout the years and the history this club has with the Manchester United game. We've just got to try and fill them with that belief that anything's possible on the day and someone produces a worldly out of nowhere. Then it's about our togetherness, running hard and fighting for everything and putting our bodies where the bodies have probably never been before, get hurt and see what happens.
Q:
GB: He obviously missed the Port Vale game and we think he'll be certainly fit for the games coming up now. I have to give Sully a special mention from last week. His performance was unbelievable. 17-year-old, away fixture, local derby, both teams where they were in the league for him to perform the way he did. I said it last week, the biggest compliment I can pay in is that I trust him, any manager will tell you that.
Q: How do you, just finally, how do you, in a game like this, make sure the players aren't paying West Ham too much respect?
GB: We've worked on what we feel that we're going to have to do and we know that we're going to have to suffer together. But we believe that we have something that we can exploit and obviously take advantage of on the day and it's up to us to then go and execute it. The FA Cup is about creating memories. I could sit here and tell you my memories of the FA Cup, but the challenge to the players is go and create their own. Now they're going to create their own by being able to say I played against West Ham in the FA Cup. What we've said to them is go and make it a bit more than that.
Q: Could be historic if they do?
GB: Yeah, I wasn't aware that this is only the second time that the club has been in the 4th Round. So to have never been in the fifth round is another one for them to sort of like digest and if they want to be history makers, there you go. That's something for them to go and try and achieve for us.
Q: Have they been practicing penalties?
GB: Yeah, obviously penalties is where it goes to now, there's no replay. I think if it did get to penalties then the money men above me would be dancing up and down and asking for a rule change and one in a replay. But we know it goes straight to penalties so yeah, we're practicing penalties as well.
Q: You mentioned that it's kind of the second time that the club have ever reached this milestone. How important would it be for you, the team, the squad, to kind of get through to the next round and be those history makers that you spoke about?
GB: Oh, it'd be massive. It'd be massive for the football club as well. We've got wonderful supporters and I feel for them at times because year on year, they're always involved in a relegation fight and I'm really pleased that we've been able to bring Premier League opposition here. So for us to actually then be a go on and pull an upset off for would be a special thank you to them as well.
Q: And given that league form and push to stay in the division like you mentioned, how important would a result be here potentially to springboard the rest of the season? A positive result and a big upset could potentially transform not just, you know, the history of the club in terms of getting through to the next round, but also give that positivity?
GB: Definitely. It would be a massive boost of confidence to the players and the belief in it. Not that they don't have that already with the level of performances that we've had this season. We haven't picked up enough points from those performances, but the belief and the confidence and the togetherness that they've got is still there but that would give us a massive shot in the arm, as they say.
Q: And what are you expecting from West Ham? I mean, I tried to research any kind of links between yourself and West Ham, I don't know if there is any, but what are you expecting from them?
GB: Well, like I say, just top, top level opposition. Watched them the other night against Manchester United. The manager, a huge amount of respect for the job that he's done at Wolves and my club, Nottingham Forest. Then fortunately, or unfortunately for his Forest fans at the moment, with what he's doing at West Ham. He can pick up any names kind of and put them in and it's going to be a mighty challenge for us but on the day, in the romance of the FA Cup, you just never know - and then obviously that's the belief that we go in with.
Q: And if I'm allowed to ask a question that's not really about the game in terms of what do you make of that dismissal of Sean Dyche late last night and what are your kind of feelings on that?
GB: Well, from a personal point of view, I grew up with the four coaches there: Tony Laughlin, Sean Dyche, Ian Werner and Steve Stone so from a personal point of view, straight away I'm upset with it, of course, because they're friends. I think there's been statistics thrown out that he's the highest win percentage manager under the current owner? And so from a Forest fan's point of view, everybody will be going, right, well, the position that Forest are in, what type of manager are we looking for? And we'd all begoing, Sean Dyche, and we've just got rid of him - so yeah, I hope he goes away on holiday, dusts himself down and then gets ready to go again because he does what it says in the tin and he's a very good manager with very good coaches.
Q: In the league last week after Paul Vale, usually we talk about the next three points, but it's not three points, it's a cup game, but a very big one. How have the players been this week in terms of their approach, preparation?
GB: I understand what you're saying. On Saturday, what they showed was a huge amount of resilience because if you look at the Doncaster game we had 20 corners, over 20 shots and then I think it's Port Vale with a, I think it's 13, 14 shots at goal again. So their resilience has been impressive. They came back from twice going behind at Port Vale and then we were trying so hard to try and get a winner we're hitting the post, we're hitting the bar, bballs flashing across the six-yard box. Their energy, their attitude, and the positive responses for the club, it was wonderful to see in the second-half against Doncaster and the whole game against Port Vale. We just need that bit of quality in that final third and to defend a little bit better, but the mood coming into this week has been one full of excitement.
Q: And a massive day for the fans as well with a full house, big atmosphere with a Premier League club?
GB: Yeah, definitely. And I'm delighted for the supporters because they deserve the reward of that day because they have to suffer with us. Over the years, unfortunately, they've suffered relegation fights far too often. We're trying to change that this season. At this current moment in time, it looks like it'd be another one going to the wire, but they stick with us. They're very knowledgeable in their opinions and their support and their backing's been incredible.
I look at football clubs now, football fans and they cause a lot of trouble by booing and getting on at the players. Our fans don't do that, our fans stick with us. I think a lot of that is because of the fact that they see that they're running hard and they're fighting for the badge and that's one of the things that we demand. If ever there was a day that I didn't see that, then I'd know I'd be in trouble but it wouldn't be from the fans, it'd be from my own observations. But our fans are terrific.
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