Abertillery Bluebirds’ manager Lee Thomas has spoken of the difference in preparations ahead of their glamour Welsh Cup clash with Connah’s Quay.
The Monmouthshire-based outfit are the lowest-ranked side in the competition after going through four rounds.
Abertillery Bluebirds – play in the fourth tier of South Walian football – host Connah’s Quay who have yet to taste defeat in three of their four domestic competitions.
“Preparations have gone well and everything is set up and ready, hopefully, we’ll see a big crowd,” said Thomas.
“We know we’re up against it, they’re a top outfit, near enough a full-time team paying out lots of money I would think.
“But our lads, they don’t pick up a penny, they rush from work to training, some of the lads will be working on Saturday morning to ensure they can play in the afternoon.
“They’re paying to play, that’s the big difference really.”
Embed from Getty ImagesConnah’s Quay this season caused an upset after defeating Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock in the Europa League.
Morrison has also previously masterminded the Deeside club to a victory over Finnish champions HJK Helsinki.
Bluebirds boss Lee Thomas though says his side won’t be making up the numbers: “You look at their recent results in Europe and they’ve been tremendous.
“I’ve got a good group of lads, and it’s all about getting belief into them now that we can pull off something special.
“We’re going there to make the numbers up, we’re going to go out and hopefully compete and make it as difficult as possible for Andy and his lads.”
Embed from Getty ImagesNomads boss Andy Morrison made a personal trip to watch their Cup opponents as the Bluebirds defeated Treharris Athletic Western.
Morrison’s visit to the Ebbw Fach valley earned praise from his opposite counterpart ahead of the clash.
“He’s played at one of the biggest clubs in the country. For him to come down it was nice. I didn’t get to speak to him but he was definitely down.
“He witnessed a great goal that day from one of our midfielders. It was a hell of a strike from Brandon Withers.
“It’s certainly a sign of respect from Andy and his staff.
Thomas’ has conducted his own work in preparation of the tie as he aims to mastermind a mammoth upset.
The former Hereford full-back has been conducting his own work to prepare for the Cymru Premier side.
He has been utilising S4C Sgorio’s weekly footage of the Cymru Premier as a way to deal with the opposition on Saturday.
“I’ve tried to watch Sgorio as much as possible recently, they’ve got some good coverage on there, and we’ve put a couple of things together.
“We’ll be working on a few things in training tomorrow based on some of the things I’ve seen.”
Embed from Getty ImagesThomas is hoping to rewrite another chapter into his own story in the Welsh Cup
Part of a squad which included Bradford City boss Gary Bowyer and former Newcastle United defender Darren Peacock, Thomas has mixed memories of the Cup.
Despite playing in the earlier rounds of the competition, the former RTB Ebbw Vale boss wasn’t included in Hereford’s squad for the final.
The Bulls became the last English side to lift the Welsh Cup as they defeated Wrexham 2-1 at the National Stadium in Cardiff.
“My assistant manager Shane Jones has actually won the Welsh Cup. We were together at Hereford United.
“Shane played in the cup final at the Millennium Stadium and picked up the winner’s medal at a time when the likes of Cardiff City and Newport entered the tournament.
Thomas will look to put his omission behind him as he aims to create history as a manager: “It’s a massive thing for a club like ours.
“It means a lot to us to be able to have a run in the Welsh Cup, there are some monetary rewards in it, there’s over £2000 at stake for the winners of this tie.
“We’ve had around a hundred seats installed this week actually, everything is expensive so it’s a massive help to us
“It would certainly put the name of the club on the map, but then we probably already have actually, there’s been a lot of coverage, a lot of people contacting us.
“It would be one of the biggest Welsh Cup upsets in recent history.”
(Featured Image: Will Cheshire)
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