FA Cup preview: Unlikely lads can march on, says Wealdstone boss Sam Cox

By Jon Couch

GRIMSBY TOWN v WEALDSTONE

Saturday December 6, Kick-off: 3pm

Sam Cox believes his Wealdstone side “epitomise the underdog mentality” needed to etch their names in FA Cup folklore.

The Stones are punching well above their weight in the National League this season despite having one of the lowest budgets in the division.

And the plucky north Londoners are exceeding expectations in the FA Cup too as they look to seal a place in the third round for the first time in their history.

A trip to League Two play-off chasers Grimsby awaits the Stones on Saturday and confident boss Cox is backing his young side to upset the odds once again.

Underdogs

“Wealdstone Football Club epitomises the underdog mentality in general,” Cox told The NLP.

“We’ve got the lowest budget in the National League.

“We know where we are as a football club in terms of infrastructure and resources but we fight through every little bit that we’ve got.

“We’ll do exactly that in the FA Cup next week and show what we’re about.

“A lot of our recruitment this year has been due to resources, meaning a number of these players have come from Step 3 or been brought in for their first senior loans.

“At the same time, we’ve got some boys making the move up from Step 2.

“We’ve got a real mixed bag of players who are really hungry and fearless.

“They don’t fear any ground that we go to this season, or any opponent, and it’s more of a feeling of excitement than anxiety, which is great.

“We have to try and create a culture that embodies opportunistic moment where these players can make a name for themselves and get into round three.”

Tricky youths

By day, Cox works as a coach in the Tottenham Hotspur Academy, where he himself began a stellar professional career which saw him represent his country, Guyana, 31 times.

The 35-year-old clearly knows what makes young players tick and he believes that youthful exuberance of his Stones will make them tricky opponents for the Mariners.

“It’s a one-off game, a free hit for us,” he added.

“The boys have got nothing to fear.

“It’s a fantastic showcase for some of these young hungry players looking to elevate themselves in their career, not just the football club.

“It’s a massive occasion for the club, a great day out for the fans.

“The boys have been fantastic so far this year and thoroughly deserve to be in the second round.

“I thought we were excellent against Southend in round one.

“The prospect of potentially getting into a history-making third round would be unbelievable for the football club.

“We play a certain style and a certain way and that will be no different going into this game.

Confident

“The boys are all looking forward to it.

“We are really focused and we’ll go into the game feeling confident in that we can get something out of it.

“Grimsby are doing really well in League Two.

“The gaffer [David Artell] is doing a great job.

“We know they’ve got some top players who could probably even play higher.

“But we don’t got into the game with any fear.

“We’ve had some real big tests and been competitive in every fixture we’ve had this year.

“We’ll prepare for Grimsby, give everything we’ve got and hopefully a cup upset could be on the cards.”