Massive For the Club, Massive For the Town, Massive For the Players Monday, 7th Nov 2022 11:49 Tonight’s FA Cup first-round tie against the Blues at Bottom Meadow is “massive for the club, it’s massive for the town and massive for the players”, according to Bracknell Town joint-manager Jamie McClurg (ITV4, KO 7.45pm). Bracknell are in the first round for only the second time, the first having been in 2000 when they were beaten 4-0 at Lincoln City. Quizzed on whether tonight’s match is the biggest he and fellow boss Carl Withers have been involved in, McClurg said: “It’s the biggest one because it’s the next one! Obviously, the FA Cup’s a huge competition and Ipswich are a huge club, they’ve won the actual FA Cup against the team me and Carl support! “It’s probably the biggest one that we’ve been involved in in terms of it being an FA Cup game.” McClurg says the tie provides the Southern League Premier Division club with a huge boost. “There’s obviously a financial reward and being on telly’s great, it can set the club up for a few more years and push us in the direction the club and [chairman and owner] Kayne [Steinborn-Busse] and everyone at the club wants to go in. It’s massive for the club, it’s massive for the town and massive for the players. “It’s a huge positive, I think we’re all thanking Dion Dublin for pulling out ball 25 which was Ipswich. It’s a huge positive going forward for the club.” Withers says they have watched Town going into the match: “They were on TV last week, so we’ve been fortunate enough to see a few of their games, the last one against Charlton. “They’re a Football League side so we know what their game will be. They’re going to probably have lots of possession and it’s down to us to be able to find something in them that we can exploit and hopefully on the night it’s the deciding factor.”
McClurg added: “We’ve got a management team that does that, me Carl, [assistant manager] Lee Riddell, we’ve all sat there and watched hours of football on Ipswich and how they play. “They play exciting football, they’re a young, energetic side. I think they’ve got some good stats for the season, so we’ve obviously looked into them. “With any game of football and any team that me and Carl have managed and been involved in, our full focus is always on our players and us. I think if we’re going to worry about any team that we’re playing against, then we’ll probably start off on the wrong foot. “We’ve got to respect them. They’re obviously a full-time Football League side but we’ve got to focus on our players and on our game and how we actually got to this point in the FA Cup and in the league.” Withers says they have almost a full squad to pick from: “We’ve got one long-term injury, Adam Richards, who sadly got injured against Yate, he’s got a knee injury on which the positive news is that it might not be as bad as we first thought. But other than that, are pretty much going in with a fully fit squad.” Reflecting on what he’s going to say to his players ahead of the biggest game of their lives, he added: “I’ve probably gone over the team-talk in my head about 20 times, but on the night it will just be what comes to me. The expectations of us and the result, I feel the club has won already and I just want the players to enjoy the occasion. “It might never happen again for us all, so I just want them to go out, really have no regrets and come off the pitch, whatever the result is, proud of themselves and of what they’ve achieved, what we’ve done for the town and hopefully come out victorious on the night.” Chairman Steinborn-Busse spoke to Saturday’s Life’s a Pitch on BBC Radio Suffolk (2hrs 34mins 18secs) on which Town’s 1978 FA Cup final goalscorer Roger Osborne was also a guest. He says he was worried that his team's form might drop off following the draw against Town but quite the opposite has been the case. The Robins, who are 11th in their division and through to round two of the FA Trophy, are currently on a nine-game unbeaten run. “I was a bit concerned when we drew you, I thought our performances might have dipped a little bit as I was thinking that people were maybe wanting to keep themselves fit, were not wanting to get injured,” he said. “But it’s gone the other way. Our performances have kicked on to another level. I think we’ve scored 20 goals in three games, so it’s been incredible. “Our players have really stepped up and put everything into the games that they’ve played in the last couple of weeks.” Given that form, does he scent a giant-killing? “No, at the end of the day, the pressure’s very firmly on your team. They have to win. Everyone expects Ipswich to win, they come and win on the night, you’re doing what’s expected of you. “You’re a full-time side so you should quite easily beat our guys who have got to go and do a day’s work first.”
Steinborn-Busse was keeping his cards close to his chest when asked which of his players are the ones to watch. “I’m never going to give the players to look out for because our one per cent then becomes point-one of a per cent!” he exclaimed. “The characters in the squad, [forward] Joe Grant, he’s a fan favourite. Our captain, Dan Bayliss, I think we’ll be struggling to hold onto Dan after this game because he’s a special player, he’s a proper centre-back, he’s big, he’s no-nonsense, heads and kicks all day long, but he’s a really nice guy. “In our team, and I hope it’s come across in recent weeks when they’ve been speaking, they’re all really, really nice, humble, normal kind of guys. “I’d certainly say the character to look out for on the night is Joe Grant, local lad, I’ve known him since he was a little boy, I’ve known his mum and dad, and he’s a great character and a great person.” Town boss Kieran McKenna mentioned 14-goal top scorer Jordan Esprit at his pre-match press conference on Friday. “No, no, don’t worry about him!” Steinborn-Busse joked. “I don’t think he’s playing!”
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