A spectacular season for giant-killing means Roberto Mancini must be wary of Wigan on route to FA Cup glory today – according to a manager who pulled off one of the biggest upsets this season.
Ex-Manchester City striker Paul Dickov managed Oldham then 19th in League One when they whooped the Premiership stars of Liverpool 3-2 and was then sensationally finished ahead of the fifth round clash with Everton.
And Scot Dickov, 40, is certain that Roberto Martinez’s relegation threatened Wigan will come to Wembley this afternoon (5.15pm Ko, Live on ITV1) and play football free of the pressure cooker atmosphere of their current Premiership matches.
As the richest club on the planet prepares for the final with the lowly Latics, former Maine Road hero Dickov warns his former team to treat their opponents with plenty of respect.
Outlining his own vision of giant-killing glory that inspired his team to take the scalp of Liverpool, Dickov, who scored the last ever goal at Springfield Park in a 1-1 play-off semi-final in 1999 before Wigan moved to the JJB Stadium, said: “We were in a very similar position to Wigan, very close to the bottom of the table.
“And the week in week out awareness of relegation can add extra pressure to players – everyone in the club feels that Saturday to Tuesday pressure.
“But then you have an outlet – an FA Cup game and in this case an FA Cup Final. I know that Wigan are a good team and I went to watch the Premiership match last month and City won 1-0.
“But Wigan were fantastic on the evening – never mind get a point out of it they deserved to win.
“Yet the difference in the teams was the ability to finish that evening Wigan created so many chances, but they didn’t put the ball in the back of the net.
“Kone caused them all sorts of problems. It is one of the few times this season that I have seen City out played and out passed.
“The way they played was a credit to Roberto Martinez, so I don’t think the final will be as clear cut as many people think.
“You know Wigan are not real long shots as they are in the same division, just look at what we did at Boundary Park, what Leeds did to Tottenham, Luton to Norwich and what Bradford did in that fabulous League Cup run.
“All we said to the boys at Oldham was that the game against Liverpool was a gimme.
“They could go out there and play football like they did in the playground, for fun and with flair and have a right good go as there was nothing to lose. Martinez will be doing just the same to ensure they deliver their best on the day.
“From the outside looking in nobody is expecting Wigan to get anything, but to go down in the history books as the first Wigan team to win an FA Cup final will be a fantastic incentive to the players. Premiership survival is important, but you would have something to show future generations if you earned an FA Cup winners medal.
“I reminded my Oldham players that in any round of the cup there is always a shock and if they played their best they could potentially make their name in a televised game being watched by the nation.
“I spoke to them a lot about how the FA Cup can define player’s careers. I told them of how DJ Campbell was at Brentford, but his FA Cup performances catapulted him into the Premiership.
“And I talked a lot about team effort and that it is also each individual player’s chance to show people their potential and their ability.
“On TV you know somebody will watch it and say ‘he can play.’ And that has happened with Matt Smith – who signed a boot deal with Warrior after scoring two against Liverpool – and I’ve had clubs in touch asking about him after the Everton game.”
Executives at Premiership clubs have asked Dickov about the tall, talented Manchester University student, and the ex-manager is currently in talks with two clubs about a return to the league as a Championship manager.
Speaking at his sumptuous home in the Cheshire village of Alderley Edge, with a cake baked replica of the historic silver trophy on his kitchen table courtesy of FA Cup betting partner William Hill, Dickov revealed that his most inspirational team talks as a player came from Joe Royle during his days at Manchester City.
He said: “I read a lot of motivational books and wouldn’t say some of the stuff to the players, but I told them to go out there and be determined as you always have a chance.
“But Big Joe Royle was my most inspirational manager with his team talks and he would always say ‘be the best you can’.
“I told the Oldham lads just that and after I said it to them a couple of times I asked them what they thought it meant.
“Matt Smith is a bright lad and understood it more than most, but some other lads would say that they had to be man of the match, to put in an outstanding performance, be the best player on the pitch.
“But with all the relegation pressure on them I wanted to alleviate that and explained what I meant.
“Essentially, give it everything you have got and nobody will ask any questions of you.
“I told them ‘be the best you can and have a right good go.’
“When Steve Gerrard and Jamie Carragher were not in the starting line-up at Boundary Park that was massive for us, Carra was going mad on the bench.
“But after the game he, Gerrard and Brendan Rogers came into the dressing and shook hands with the lads. That was real class and meant a lot.
“Manchester City won’t be resting players as the FA Cup is their one chance of getting silverware this year. So Mancini will play his strongest team.
“He’ll have to respect Wigan as they alone stand between City and FA Cup glory.
“Whatever Wigan do it will be a relief, but I am supporting City and suspect they will be too strong and can win it 2-0.
“I was just a kid when I got my FA Cup winners medal back in 1993 with Arsenal, but I wasn’t on the pitch just part of the squad I got a League Cup winners medal that same season and a European Cup winners medal the next season as part of the squad.”
But Dickov’s biggest Wembley moment was scoring the equaliser for Manchester City against Gillingham in the fateful Second Division play-off in 1999 that put the Citizens back on the long road to the Premiership.
William Hill match odds: Manchester City 4/11, Draw, 10/3, Wigan 9/1
(Picture: Nigel Bennett)