It has been 35 years since Alan Devonshire hoisted The FA Cup but his love affair with the competition is still burning brightly at Maidenhead United
Devonshire clocked more than 400 appearances for West Ham United and was on the field at Wembley in 1980 when the Hammers last won the trophy, defeating Arsenal 1-0.
The 59-year-old first entered management in 1997 with Maidenhead and, after 15 years away from the club, returned this summer to take charge for his second stint.
Port Vale v Maidenhead United
The Emirates FA Cup
First Round Proper
3pm, Sunday 8 November 2015
Vale Park
He has immediately steered the Magpies on the right track and should they beat League One Port Vale in the Emirates FA Cup this weekend, it will be the first time the club has reached the second round in 128 years.
That is easier said than done – Port Vale are three leagues above and playing at home – and Devonshire’s message to his players is to savour the moment.
“It’s the biggest club cup competition in the world, I’m lucky enough to have won it many years ago and I know what it means to the biggest and the smallest clubs,” he said.
“It’s going to be a difficult game, we’ve got a lot of information on them and we know they’re a decent side – they’re going to be hot favourites. We’re looking to have a good day out and who knows what will happen.
Alan Devonshire lifts The FA Cup in 1981
“We will need a little bit of luck on the day and we have no illusions on how tough it’s going to be, if we do get something that would be great.
“We’ve made a few quid already that the chairman is happy about, so we’re going to enjoy ourselves.
“There’s no difference since my first time in charge here, the fans are still the same and it was the right time for me to come back after four seasons at Braintree – I’m very pleased that I did.”
Valiants skipper Carl Dickinson is out to create his own special moments in the competition after admitting memorable Cup runs have been few and far between in his career so far.
“I haven’t been on that many good cup runs, but one game stood out when I was Stoke against Newcastle – we were in the Championship at the time,” said Dickinson, who joined up with Vale in 2013.
Port Vale's Carl Dickinson expects a tough game against Maidenhead
“They had a strike force of Michael Owen and Mark Viduka and we kept them out in a 0-0 draw at home, and then we got thumped in the replay!
“There’s always one upset every year – and we don’t want to be that team.
“Maidenhead are doing well in the National League South we know it’s going to be a tough game, we have to do everything we usually do – by putting on a professional performance.
“We know what we are about and it doesn’t matter what team we played against. They’ve got quite a few dangermen out wide and that’s where we expect the main threats to come from.”
