Salford City boss Karl Robinson has assured supporters that his team will maintain their sense of identity as the club prepare to face Manchester City in the FA Cup third round.
The Ammies will arrive at the Etihad Stadium on the back of their best run of league form this season. Karl Robinsons’ side extended their unbeaten streak in League Two to six games with a battling 1-0 win against MK Dons on January 4.
So, while a total of 64 league places separate Salford and Pep Guardiola’s reigning Premier League champions, Robinson highlighted the club’s approach, and his philosophy, will not be disregarded entirely for the stand-alone cup fixture.
However, the 41-year-old admitted that the squad’s usual preparations have been tweaked slightly to account for the disparity in quality. He said: “We will plan a little differently but keep the same sense of identity.
“One thing that really annoyed me was, when the draw came out, people said that we might have a chance. At no stage have we ever looked at this game and thought that we were going to get anything from it.
“There’s only one important aspect and that’s the result but when you go against a team that’s so strong and they’ve got so much quality, there is another side of winning, and that’s that we don’t let ourselves down. We will make one or two tweaks and will try to be true to ourselves.”
Salford City have been lent a hand in their build-up to the encounter by Manchester United, who have hosted the club at their Cliff training ground – allowing Robinson’s men to prepare unaffected by the freezing local weather.
Ready for Man City 🤩 pic.twitter.com/ppr10XMYkM
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) January 9, 2025
Robinson explained that the quality Manchester City possesses makes building towards the match easier, as Pep Guardiola’s side have a reliable and easily identifiable way of playing: “The preparations for these games are quite easy because the quality of the opposition is obvious.
“Their movement patterns are so good that you can almost see them. At our level, there’s a degree of unpredictability to get into the final third but there is a consistency for Manchester City and these other Premier League teams that they allow you to coach a little bit more.”
“You always know that you can find yourself getting beaten because of a moment of genius by one of their top players.”
In the FA Cup third round for the first time in the club’s history, Salford City will hope to stage one of the competitions greatest shocks against Manchester City on Saturday, Kick-off is at 17:45 pm.
Recent Comments