SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Concentrate on promotion, Sutton boss Doswell tells Leeds

LONDON (Reuters) - Sutton United manager Paul Doswell has one piece of advice for Leeds United coach Garry Monk ahead of Sunday's FA Cup fourth round clash at Gander Green Lane -- concentrate on the league.

Concentrate on promotion, Sutton boss Doswell tells Leeds
(Reuters)

3 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Skip to article content

The minor-league club from London's southern suburbs host the three-times English champions hoping to match their 1989 Cup success against then top-flight Coventry City.

Leeds, slowly emerging from the financial meltdown that sent them into freefall a decade ago, are third in the Championship (second tier), 84 places higher than National League (fifth-tier) Sutton, and challenging to return to the Premier League.

Monk made wholesale changes in the previous round when a youthful Leeds side edged past League Two Cambridge United.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

He is likely to repeat that formula, especially with a Championship game two days later.

"If I was in Garry's shoes, the overriding feeling is that I want to get Leeds into the Premier league," the man who works for free as Sutton manager and paid for the club's artificial 3G playing surface told Reuters.

"It's a no-brainer compared to wanting to do well in the FA Cup because Leeds should be in the top flight. If I was in Garry's shoes I would be playing my best players who won't start against Blackburn Rovers (on Tuesday).

"My hunch is he will play eight or nine young players. But they have all played first-team football this year. We've analysed their first team and that frightens us. We've analysed the young team that played against Cambridge and that frightened us, too. We are in for a tough game."

Doswell, who has turned around the fortunes of Sutton in his eight seasons in charge, guiding them back to within one step of League Two, has done his homework for whichever side former Swansea City boss Monk sends out.

"I've watched Alex Mowatt, the left back Tyler Denton, Matt Grimes, Kalvin Phillips, I can name them all," he said.

"The over-riding thing is they are all very good players. They did a great job at Cambridge in what will be a similar atmosphere to what they will face on Sunday."

ALTERNATIVE WEMBLEY HOPES

Doswell suffered a blow on Tuesday when centre back Dean Beckwith suffered a hamstring injury during Sutton's FA Trophy victory over Worthing which kept their more realistic chance of a Wembley final this season alive.

But even without one of their top players, Doswell believes tiny Sutton could spring a surprise in front of the live TV cameras in a repeat of their FA Cup encounter 47 years ago, when Leeds won 6-0 in front of what is still a club-record 14,000 fans.

"We have a team that doesn't give up. We were 1-0 down in pretty much all the Cup games so far and we have come back," said Doswell, whose side beat League One AFC Wimbledon in a third-round replay.

"It would be a massive upset if we won -- probably bigger than the Coventry one."

(Reporting by Martyn Herman,; Editing by Neville Dalton)


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world