MANAGER: Anything can happen

Manager Keith Curle ahead of the trip to Welling

Manager Keith Curle spoke to us about tomorrow’s FA Cup second round tie at Park View Road.

“I think everyone will tell you this is a great competition,” he said. “I got through to the semi-final with Wolves so, as a player, it can leave you with a lot of good memories.

“We’re at a stage at this club now where there’s an opportunity for us to progress. Our planning, preparation and attention to detail has been no different to any other game. We will show Welling a lot of respect and we’ve had people watching them at their last three or four games.

“That’s given us a good level of knowledge of where we feel their strengths and weaknesses are. Ultimately this is another game of football and we feel it’s one we can win, but only if we do things the right way.”

“The team was picked on Friday,” he confirmed. “They were all given their roles and responsibilities and they know what they’ve to do to get a foothold in the game. We’re going to have to earn the right to play and there are different ways we can do that.

“We’re happy with our game plan and it’s something we’ve worked on over the course of the last few days. I’m happy with the starting eleven and with those who have travelled.”

“We know we’ll come up against a very competitive side which has good attacking options,” he explained. “Their manager has them well organised and they flood the areas very quickly when they have the ball.

“They like to keep hold of it and I think their coaching staff have done very well. It’s a hard working and determined group and they’ll be looking to bring all of that to the pitch on Sunday.

“The thing we have to remember is that this is in no way a foregone conclusion. The players are looking at it as a challenge and there are things they’re going to have to address and deal with. Hopefully that will happen and it will ultimately bring us success.”

On the 600-plus expected travelling support, he said: “We’re going to have good numbers there and they are always very vocal. We appreciate what they do for us and we’re looking to give them more to shout about. I’m sure they’ll enjoy themselves and our aim is to reward them for the efforts they go to in giving us their support.

“It’s another game where we know we have nothing to fear and that’s because we look at everything we do as a challenge to be met head on. We've got a focused and determined group of players who enjoy this type of encounter. Welling will be another of these challenges but it’s one for us to embrace.

“In every game of football there’s a level of competitiveness. From what I've seen, Welling are more cultured than trying to boot us up in the air. They've got a level of aggression and they will compete, but they’ll get that same level of aggression back from us.”

“The rewards for progressing in any cup competition are obvious to everyone,” he concluded. “The finances take care of themselves and our focus is purely on winning a game of football. The prize money and pats on the back that come with winning a game are things you deal with afterwards.

“The players have been reminded of the fixtures we played before the Liverpool game. If you get through, you go into a draw and anything can happen. We’ve seen that recently, so the next job for us is to make sure we’re in that hat.”