Chris Wilder looks ahead to tonight
United welcome Accrington Stanley to the Kassam Stadium tonight as they aim to seal their place in the Third Round of the FA Cup in this rescheduled Second Round replay.
The fixture was originally called off last Wednesday because of a frozen pitch, but manager Chris Wilder did not complain with the decision:
“Referees have a difficult job in trying to forecast what the conditions are going to be like. He had to do that and he made the right decision, especially when you saw the weather that we had later on that night, but now we go again and we’re looking forward to the game.”
The prize at stake for either side is an enticing encounter with League One side Sheffield United, a club close to the manager’s heart. But the Gaffer has put all thoughts about the prospect of facing his former club to one side:
“I’ve been asked the question about personal connections, and there are a few other players here with links as well, but not a minute has been thought about that game. We’ve always had our eyes on beating Accrington Stanley and we know it’s going to be a tough game. There’s no big advantages for either side, so we have to be at our best to make progression but we’re desperate to do that and we want to make sure that we are in the Third Round for the first time in quite a few years.”
The first game between the sides ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw, with United twice coming from behind and Chris is keen to see the same character and resilience on show on Tuesday night:
“The game was overshadowed by the sad events before, but if you look back at the game it was a real good game of football between two sides that had a right go at it. They’re a good side who have some good players but we showed great resilience. I thought our second half performance was really positive in the vain that we have been playing in general over a decent period now. We went behind twice and showed great resilience to come back and force a replay and now we have to go and finish the job.”
See the full interview in Yellow Player now, including the manager’s views on the draw with Morecambe and the return of Michael Duberry.