Stevenage’s Glenn Roeder says “non-British” coaches don’t understand FA Cup’s “tradition”
Port Vale’s coaching staff may want to pin this to Bruno Ribeiro’s office wall – Stevenage’s “managerial adviser” says that “non-British” coaches “don’t understand how much of a tradition the FA Cup is in England”.
Vale play Stevenage in the FA Cup first round on Saturday and it will be Bruno Ribeiro’s first taste of the competition since being appointed Vale manager.
Lots of managers and coaches, especially the non-British coaches… probably don’t understand how much of a tradition the FA Cup is in England
Roeder told the Hertfordshire Mercury: “I’m not one of those people who think that the FA Cup has lost its shine, I know that lots of people do.
“Lots of managers and coaches, especially the non-British coaches because, although they know about the competition and the history, they probably don’t understand how much of a tradition the FA Cup is in England.
“For me personally, the FA Cup is a special competition and it’s steeped in history. What an honour it was for me to lead a team out at an FA Cup final. It’s something you dream of and for that to happen, more than 90% of players never get that opportunity, ever.
“We would like to get into Port Vale, get a winning result and be in the hat again for the second round proper.”