NEW PALS’ ACT IS OFF THE MENU FOR COOK
WIGAN boss Paul Cook says he is not interested in trying to be “Pep’s best mate”.
Some opposition managers have fawned over Guardiola this season, so starstruck are they by the Manchester City boss.
But while Cook respects the Spaniard, he insists his team will be professional and focus on trying to upset City again in this repeat of the 2013 FA Cup final.
“We’re not here to be Pep’s best mate,” said the plain-speaking Scouser. “We’re not, we’re genuinely not.
“We’re here to have a game of football in a cup tie.
“We have the utmost respect for every manager we play. Man City bring something different to the town, of course they do.
“You have the best team in the world possibly and maybe the best manager in the world.
“But we will be competitive in the game. We’re not here to make best friends with Man City and everyone pat us on the back after they’ve beaten us by five and say have a good season. We want to try to win a game of football.”
Cook bought a £12 bottle of wine to share with David Moyes when Wigan beat West Ham in the last round and says Guardiola will have to make do with whatever is in his drinks cabinet.
“Pep will get invited in with his staff before the game, like everyone should in England,” he said. “He can have a can of Skol. We respect Pep, but our drinks cabinet won’t change for anybody. “I think we got David Moyes a £12 bottle of wine from Tesco. We’ll show Pep the utmost respect and I’m sure by the time he leaves, he’ll have had a good experience of Wigan.” Cook (below, during his playing days) was part of Wigan’s run to the quarterfinals in 1987 – their best showing in the cup before lifting the trophy in 2013. He also has history when it comes to upsetting City, scoring a screamer in Stockport’s win over them in Division One in 1997. “That City team was Georgi Kinkladze, lads like that,” said the 50-year-old. “It was a cracker – bounced, volley, 25-yard screamer. I hope you find the footage. “It just shows you where City have gone in 20 years. That was probably one of their lowest moments as a club. We were Stockport, they were City, and yet we beat them 3-1. “We’re really looking forward to the game. We’re not going to set up with that hard-tobeat mentality. “If we sit off them too much, they’ll just get more confident. We’ve got to disrupt them. We have to be aggressive with our play and formation. We have to be brave.”