IMPS READY TO STEP UP IN CLASS
Cowley brothers do their homework for Clarets test
EX-TEACHERS Danny and Nicky Cowley have been back to the classroom in the build-up to their latest FA Cup adventure at Burnley today.
But the Lincoln management duo have no plans to return to full-time teaching – because they are loving life in professional football.
The brothers have got the Red Imps flying high since swapping semi-pro football and teaching jobs for a shot at full-time management.
And today they will challenge their players to succeed where Premier League leaders Chelsea failed by beating the Clarets.
“Football is about winning,” said manager Danny, who has been keeping in the teaching groove by leading lectures alongside brother Nicky at nearby Bishop Grosseteste University.
“I don’t go to Burnley to think, ‘I’m enjoying this’. I go to Burnley to win.
“We know it’s a one in 100 chance but we have to believe it will be that one time.
“A lot of people have told me it’s impossible but impossible is just an opinion, it’s not a fact.
“For us to come through Oldham, Ipswich away, Ipswich at home and Brighton was probably a one in 10,000 chance, so after what we’ve seen in the cup this year anything is possible.”
Cowley did his homework last week by attending Burnley’s 1-1 home draw with Chelsea in the Premier League.
Now he knows he must convince his players they can do what Antonio Conte’s multi-millionaire stars could not.
“We watched Eden Hazard, Pedro, Diego Costa and Victor Moses all try to break them down and not be able to,” he said.
“Then they brought Cesc Fabregas on and he wasn’t able to unpick them!
“So it won’t be easy but we will go there with a belief that we can do it.
“It’s not every morning you wake up with the opportunity to do something you’re going to remember for the rest of your life.”
A clash with a Premier League side is the latest chapter in the brothers’ remarkable story.
Double
And Nicky, who teamed up with his big brother at Concord Rangers and Braintree, revealed they have been a deadly double-act since they were football-mad kids.
“When we were younger we often spent school holidays playing sport or playing Championship Manager on the computer,” said Nicky.
“Our mum used to tell me off for spending too much time on it and tell me to get on with my homework and I recently reminded her I was doing my homework!
“Dan would drive me mad. He would sit with a pad wanting to make notes and I would want to get on and play the next game. We even used to argue about what name we’d use. We would sometimes be ‘Dannick Cowley’.
“I would take it quite seriously and I remember once using a Z-bed that we had and turning it into a dugout!”
The pair, who were PE teachers at the same Essex school until May, have refused to leave education behind completely, with Lincoln’s BGU partnership meaning they regularly help nurture students.
But their decision to quit full-time teaching has paid off, with FA Cup wins against Oldham, Ipswich and Brighton coming alongside a climb to the top of the National League.
And whatever the result of today’s lunchtime game, they are planning an 85-mile dash across the Pennines at the final whistle to watch North Ferriby – their opponents on Tuesday.
“Straight after the game we are intending to go to North Ferriby v Dover,” said Danny.
“The FA Cup journey we’ve been on has been amazing so we’re going to give that our very best and our full focus.
“But when the final whistle blows at Turf Moor we can’t affect that game anymore so our attention will turn very quickly.”