Dubliner Coughlan plotting United’s downfall

GRAHAM COUGHLAN has been to just about every cup final involving Manchester United since he was a kid. On Sunday, though, the Newport County manager will be trying to stop his boyhood club from reaching Wembley again by pulling off one of the great FA Cup upsets. ‘I followed United years ago when they couldn’t win an argument, never mind a game,’ said Coughlan, who used to catch the ferry from Dublin with his dad for games at Old Trafford. ‘It was tough being a follower at that time because Liverpool were dominating, and you had to go to school every day and just get hammered. They’re going through a similar period now like they experienced in the Eighties, but they’ll come through and get to the other side of it. ‘I was there the last time they lifted a trophy, the League Cup (last season). Me and the kids were there. ‘I was there the last time they lifted the FA Cup. I’ve been to finals that they’ve lost. They gave me one of the best nights of my life in Barcelona. The FA Cup in 1985. ‘I was there when Liverpool beat them in the League Cup in ’83. My missus will always accompany me when the big European games come around, the kids come with me for the league games.’ Coughlan, who played for Cherry Orchard and Bray Wanderers before moving to England, never thought he would be facing United as he tries to guide Newport of League Two into the fifth round at Rodney Parade. ‘Never in a month of Sundays,’ he added. ‘If anyone had ever said that to me, I would have laughed. It’s been surreal the last week. Unbelievable. ‘But anything can happen in football. We’ve seen shocks and giant-killings. You never, ever rule anything out.’