Tony Mowbray says Sunderland want to respect the 50th anniversary of their FA Cup triumph by embarking on another cup run, as they prepare to take on League One Shrewsbury Town in the competition this afternoon. It will be half a century in May since the Black Cats became the last team to bring the famous old trophy to the North East and Mowbray remembers as a nine-year-old watching Bob Stokoe's Second Division side pull off one of the great shocks in the competition's history when they beat the then-mighty Leeds United at Wembley in 1973.
"When I look back, 1973 was my first real memories of Sunderland and how massive it was," said Teessider Mowbray. "I was cheering Sunderland on that day - Leeds had an amazing team that was challenging for the First Division title every year under Don Revie, with Billy Bremner, Jonny Giles, Peter Lorimer, Jack Charlton, and Norman Hunter.
"So for Sunderland to do what they did that day was unbelievable because they were massive underdogs - it was a great story. I've always had an affinity because of that, and because I lived in the North-East as well and I was so young that rivalries didn't really come into it, I don't suppose.
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"So, yes, I'm fully aware of that."
Sunderland begin this season's cup quest with a third round tie at the New Meadow and it offers the Wearsiders the chance to improve on what has been in recent years a miserable record in this competition. They have not progressed beyond the third round stage since 2014-15, entering and exiting at the third round stage in each of the next three seasons, and then in their four seasons in League One they fell at the first hurdle three times and only on one occasion did they make it to the second round.
Mowbray will make some changes today but injuries have limited his room for manoeuvre and, while Sunderland's Championship campaign must take precedence, he insists he wants to progress in this cup. He said: "I just want to win every game.
"My job at this club is to try and create an identity and to try to develop some young players, and make them assets and grow into the club. But my job as a football coach is to win matches, and that never leaves you really.
"We're going to Shrewsbury and we are going to try and win. There is a balance to be had in terms of how strong a team do you need to pick to win.
"I think every manager wants to be able to pick his strongest team every game, but then what's the point of having a squad of 22 or 24 players? You have to give them an opportunity, you have to give them an opportunity to earn trust, and that's what we've been trying to do over recent weeks.
"We go into this game trying to progress to the next round, because the great thing about cups is that you never know what is round the corner - when your ball comes out of that bag, you could be playing Man City or Liverpool or Chelsea or, dare I say, Newcastle. Let's give ourselves a chance to see what's coming."
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