Kevin Phillips knows how it feels to come within touching distance of FA Cup glory and a big day out in a Wembley showpiece. The Sunderland legend helped the Black Cats to the last 16 of the competition twice during his goal-laden stay at the Stadium of Light - but it was with West Bromwich Albion where his real heartbreak lay.
The former England striker had been on form as he helped the Baggies reach the semi-finals for the first time in 26 years when he scored in a 5-1 quarter-final win over Bristol Rovers in March 2008. A 1-0 semi-final defeat against eventual winners Portsmouth ended any thoughts of a Wembley date in the May sun and marked a heartbreaking high point of Phillips experience as a player in the greatest domestic cup competition in the world.
But now, with his playing days firmly in his past and a fledging managerial career under way, the Black Cats icon is preparing for a new FA Cup experience. Thoughts of the famous Wembley arch will be far from his mind when Phillips makes his managerial debut in the competition when his South Shields side host Northern Premier League West club Workington in a first qualifying round tie on Saturday.
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This is not the stage where the multi-millionaires of the Premier League strut their stuff and elite managers rest their key players, focusing on the more lucrative rewards provided in English football’s top tier or European competitions. This is where non-league players around the country start to dream of potential meetings with Football League clubs in the first round, or a shot at taking the scalp of a Premier League side when the third round gets underway in early-2023.
For Phillips, this is where the magic lies, no matter what his role in the tie may be.
Ahead of the game, he told Chronicle Live: “The FA Cup is a truly magical competition and everyone loves being involved in at, no matter what level of the game you’re at. This is my first taste as a manager and it’s something I am really looking forward to but obviously the main thing is winning the tie and getting ourselves into the next round. That is all that matters for me and everyone else at the football club.
“We’ve got a home tie, it’s a tough one and Workington will come here and see it as a free hit for them. They will make it difficult so we have to be ready for that. We will be ready to go, I will pick a team to win the tie and we want to do well in the competition because it’s something that can provide us with something special as a football club.”
The Mariners have made a largely positive start to their first full season under Phillips. Monday’s narrow home win against North East rivals Morpeth Town maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign - although the opening weeks have not been without frustration.
With six games gone, South Shields have dropped points in draws against Ashton United, Marine and Gainsborough Trinity. Had even one of those draws been converted into a maximum, Phillips’ men would be heading into their FA Cup break sat a point clear at the top of the Northern Premier League Premier Division.
But the 49-year-old is only ready to focus on the positives within his side’s performances and insisted there is more to come from them over the coming weeks and months.
“I can’t see any negatives, I let other people do that,” he explained. “Let’s not forget, people may be quick to judge, but this is a new group because we brought in nine players in the summer.
“We’ve only been together for two months and they are getting better and better with everyday, and the performances are getting better too. The first-half (against Morpeth) was lethargic, but we showed in the second-half we are a match for anyone on our day.
“We will keep improving but we remain unbeaten for the season and we are making progress.”
It’s seems only natural that a former player that plundered their way to over 250 goals during a 20-year career should focus on his side’s attacking play. In a curious statistic thrown up during the early weeks of the season, only one of South Shields eight goals so far has been scored by a striker.
That came when Darius Osei converted a late penalty in the 2-2 draw at Marine two weeks ago.
Young winger Joao Gomes did find the net in the opening day 2-0 win against Stalybridge Celtic - but the rest of the Mariners goals have come from midfield trio Michael Woods, Martin Smith and Robert Briggs.
The gauntlet has been thrown down ahead as his side embark on the road to Wembley.
“If I am nit-picking, I would like our strikers to start scoring,” said Phillips. “All of the midfielders have pitched in and only Darius Osei’s penalty has come from one of our strikers.
“When I analyse our performances so far, the games we should have won but have drawn, we’ve created so many chances but not taken them. The challenge for our forwards is to chip in with goals, that’s the room for improvement and that can help us progress.”
They won’t have to look far for advice on finding the net - or for what glory and heartache is provided by the romance of the FA Cup.
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