Lou Macari leads Stoke out at Wembley

TWO of our local teams have the chance to take their first step on the glorious road to Wembley tonight when they launch their assault on the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

Some observers may play down the importance of this competition, but you won’t hear me calling it a Mickey Mouse cup, having led two teams to glory during my managerial career. And when Port Vale travel to Stockport and Crewe host Macclesfield tonight they must keep their eye on the ultimate prize.

I was lucky enough to guide Birmingham to the Leyland DAF Cup, as the Football League Trophy was known then, in 1991 when we beat Tranmere 3-2 in a thriller.

And the following year I managed to repeat the feat at Stoke City, thanks to Mark Stein’s solitary goal against Stockport County.

For lower league clubs the competition offers their only realistic chance of experiencing a Wembley cup final because when you’re talking about the FA or Carling Cup, it’s not going to happen.

And that certainly applies to the players because they are highly unlikely to pick up a winner’s medal in a major cup competition or in the Premier League.

When the Valiants and Crewe run on to the pitch they’ll probably see a few thousand people in the crowd and think ‘bloody hell, this is a waste of time’. But I’m sure they’ll think otherwise if they get to walk out on to Wembley’s pristine carpet. Plus, a final appearance can be a springboard to bigger and better things.

When I took over at Birmingham in 1991 they were near the bottom of the old Division Three and our main aim was survival.

But to win the Leyland DAF was a big bonus and we took nearly 50,000 Blues fans to Wembley that day.

It was a similar story when I went to the Potters, who were also in Division Three and hungry for a brighter future.

Our initial aim was to get promoted and, if we could, go on a cup run. As it turned out we didn’t quite manage promotion, as ironically enough, Stockport beat us in the play-offs, which left us with only the Autoglass Trophy to fight for.

But we did go up the following season and I think that final helped us gain momentum. It was shown on TV, which the players really enjoyed and I believe success breeds success.
My approach as a manager certainly wasn’t to rest players for these matches. This strategy has only crept into our game over the past decade, and I think it’s a load of rubbish.
I wasn’t concerned with resting players when the season had only just kicked off, and after all, footballers are paid to play football.

Nobody can say these cup games are less important than league clashes during the early part of the season. Wherever Vale and Crewe currently lie in their respective divisions, if they fail to perform tonight, they will be out of a competition they have a real chance of winning.

Yes, Vale have an important League Two fixture against Bradford City on Saturday. But even if they lose against the Bantams it certainly wouldn’t be the end of their promotion aspirations – you can’t say that about a cup game.

Young and ill-advised

Paul Ince in the dugout for Saturday's fixture against West Ham at Upton Park

WHEN I became the boss of West Ham in the summer of 1989 I can’t say I was overjoyed when one of my brightest stars didn’t turn up for our pre-season trip to Norway.

And when I was in Scandinavia I was even less pleased to see that player, Paul Ince, wearing a Manchester United shirt before he had even signed for the Red Devils.

I noticed Incey was once again roundly booed by the Hammers faithful at the weekend when he returned to Upton Park with his Blackburn Rovers side.

Nobody was angrier with Incey than me. He was badly advised and he’s paid for it ever since.

It’s not something that concerns me now and I think it’s time for Hammers fans to end their feud.

Incey was very young at the time and was somebody who wanted to play at a higher level, but went about it the wrong way.

And I think a lot of footballers, who I won’t mention, have acted a lot worse since he made his move to Old Trafford nearly 20 years ago.