Kevin Phillips leaning on tales of old to inspire South Shields to FA Cup glory

By James Reid

Goal poacher turned manager Kevin Phillips is calling on his FA Cup semi-final experience with West Brom as he looks to steer South Shields into the First Round Proper.

Phillips has been the boss of seventh-tier South Shields since January and they now face National League side Scunthorpe to qualify for the First Round for only the second time in the club’s history.

And with the prize of a draw against clubs like Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth on the line, Phillips is dipping into his Baggies memory bank to help inspire his side.

“I always try and come up with some kind of story,” said Phillips, who netted 38 league goals for West Brom between 2006 and 2008.

“I’m very conscious not keep going “when I did this, when I did that”, the players get bored of it and I’m certainly not one of those managers.

“But I have been thinking about drawing on some of my experiences in the FA Cup over the years to try and help them.

“I was lucky enough to play in the semi-final at Wembley and have my son as mascot. We played Portsmouth that year who went on to win it and that was an incredible experience, walking out at Wembley in what is the most prestigious in the world.

“It gives you so many emotions, especially the next round for the level we’re at. You get the non-league clubs drawn against the league clubs, the upsets, there’s nothing quite like it in football.

“It’s an amazing competition.”

Phillips has had a strong start to life in the dugout, narrowly missing out on promotion with the Mariners last season before making a strong start which has seen them lose just once this season.

And while the 2000 European Golden Shoe winner insists he is not thinking too far beyond Saturday’s tie, he cannot help but dream of producing an upset and booking a spot in the next round.

“To be in this situation, one game away from the First Round Proper, is exciting and having a home tie against opposition that are going to be a very good test for us to see how far we’ve come,” he added.

“It’s a great challenge for us but I don’t think we can even think about getting to the First Round proper – that would be disrespectful to Scunthorpe.

“We’ve got a great opportunity and we believe on the day we’ll give anyone a game, no matter what level.

“We’ve got some players in our squad that have played a lot of league football, so that won’t phase them, but we’ll respect Scunthorpe they’ve got some dangerous players.

“We’re the home team, we’ll look forward to it, and we know if we play the way we can we’ll give them a good game and run them very close.

“As a player, I’d be in bed the night before thinking I wish we got this team and it’s no different as a manager; I would love to get through to the First Round.

“If we could get any league side at our place, it would be massive for the football club. You look at what Marine did, there’s no reason why we couldn’t do it.”

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