Bristol City's FA Cup draw with Manchester City towards the end of February is significant in more ways than one for Matty James.
Born in the Lancashire town of Bacup, 20 miles north of the Etihad Stadium, the 31-year-old progressed through the Manchester United academy before joining Leicester in 2012. While James is a Burnley supporter, his wife Leah's family are torn between the red and blue halves of Manchester.
The couple have two young boys, one of who is a United supporter while the other is still trying to decide between the two United clubs and Bristol City. The fifth round tie, to take place in the week commencing February 27, promises to be a memorable evening at Ashton Gate five years after the two clubs met in the League Cup semi-final.
"Yeah, I mean obviously I came through at Man United, I support Burnley so for me, it’s my wife’s family split down the middle red and blue," James said ahead of tomorrow's game with Preston. "My eldest boy is obsessed with Man United, and my youngest boy likes United as well, but he’s split between the two.
"He likes Manchester City and Manchester United so he’s kind of saying to me, ‘where should I sit?’ and I was like 'you sit in the Bristol City end' kind of laughing and joking. I think for him he’s just buzzing that he’s going to get to see hopefully numerous players live and obviously playing against his Daddy so it’s quite nice and hopefully it will be a good occasion for the club.
"We watched the draw together and as it kind of dwindled down and the numbers I was thinking it's going to be one of them, I just didn’t know which one. It’s an unbelievable draw for the club and for everybody involved, certainly for the fans and for a lot of the players here.
"It’s an exciting tie and you’re going to come up against some of the best players in the world and one of the best teams over the last five to seven years in Europe so I think it’s something you kind of take in your stride and it’s going to be an enjoyable moment for the clubs and the for the players and we just play that game as and when but we’ve got numerous games before then that we need to focus on starting this Saturday at Preston away.”
Bristol City head to Deepdale on a run of seven games undefeated in all competitions following that Boxing Day defeat to West Brom. One of the catalysts to that run of form is switching formation to a back four, allowing Kal Naismith to drop into a defensive midfield role.
It's a position that Naismith has taken in his stride and it also allows the opportunity for Scott to play further forward, emphasised with his first goal of the season in the FA Cup victory over the Baggies in their last outing. James added: "I think for Kal he can play numerous positions as he’s shown through his career.
"He’ll tell you that he’s played all over the show in many different roles, and I think that’s what a modern-day footballer needs to do, you see numerous players playing in numerous positions now tactically.
"For Kal, he can play out from the back so that means he can play in midfield and if we were to change the system, he can drop back into a back three and be able to do that as well so it gives him numerous areas where he can change things.
"Kal’s been fantastic and it’s a role he’s possibly learning as the games go by. I’m trying to help him; Scotty’s been speaking to him as well, but I think he’s done fantastic so far and hopefully, that continues.”
Scott was sensational against West Brom and his performance has been widely praised, not just by those inside the four quarters of Ashton Gate, but the wider footballing sphere. For James, nothing surprises him anymore when it comes to the 19-year-old, but he has challenged his team-mate to continue performing to those levels.
James said: "I think for Scotty it’s that consistency now and that’s where he needs to try and work on each game, but you’ve got to remember his age and the number of games he’s played so far, he’s fantastic.
"For him, he’s still learning, he’s a kid and he went through as much as everyone else did, it was a tough run of form for the club and for the players and for him as well I think it’s a new experience for him as well and he’ll only grow from that.
"But the performance he showed against West Brom was fantastic; his dribbling ability and his passing and the gaffer’s been telling him to get on the scoresheet for numerous weeks now and he managed to do that so that’s what he needs to continue doing and hopefully he can get a few more before the end of the season.”
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