By Aston
January 8 2011

Town take on double winners, Chelsea, at Stamford Bridge in the third round of the FA Cup tomorrow afternoon.

Town have been granted permission to use Darren O'Dea tomorrow but they will be missing Jake Livermore after he picked up a groin injury in training this week. Grant Leadbitter is suspended, Rory Fallon is cup-tied and Jack Colback has returned to Sunderland.

Caretaker Town manager Charlie McParland: "We are down to the bare bones and it's a mountain to climb for the players, it's a fantastic game for the players though. The chance to go and play in front of 40,000 against the John Terrys and Frank Lampards.

"We know we are up against it but we go out to win every game and it will be no different on Sunday.

"It was a shock when we heard the gaffer had left and when a manager leaves a club, it's always disappointing and that was certainly the case with Roy, it's been quiet around the place but the players will be ready for Chelsea. We will have no trouble getting them up for this game. It's a terrific football match for them to look forward to and we'll go there and give a good account of ourselves."

The London side have doubts over the fitness of Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole and Michael Essien.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is disappointed that he won't be meeting Town manager Roy Keane, as he explains: "I was excited about the chance to meet Roy Keane for a long time because I was the manager of Juventus when he gave me disappointment because he scored in the semi-final of the Champions League, now I don't have the chance to meet him and I am sorry for this because when a manager loses his job it is not a good moment, but this is the life of the manager, the manager has to be able to cope with this moment. It is not good but hopefully he can move forward quickly.

"In football, usually we say when everything is okay the players are fantastic and when everything is wrong it is the manager who is not so good, but we know this. When the moment is not so good the manager has to take more responsibility than the others. At the moment, I feel more responsibility than my players and this is normal, this is not a worry for me.

"The good thing is in the FA Cup and the (last 16 of the) Champions League we don't have a gap to close, we have the same possibility as the other teams and maybe this could give to us plenty of motivation." 

Preview: Chelsea – Town

Discussion started by Singing The Blues (IP Logged), 08/01/2011 21:38

Singing The Blues
08/01/2011 21:38

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dc96
08/01/2011 21:41

I'd like to think it will be a 'backs to the wall', underdog kind of victory - unfortunately I think we'll get lose 3-0

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