WEMBLEY WIN WAS SPECIAL
FA CUP Cook: Glory day is fans’ top memory Heat is on Hart
PAUL COOK says David Moyes is wrong to claim Wigan fans would have traded their FA Cup win for a few more seasons in the Premier League.
Wigan shocked a star-studded Manchester City side in 2013 to win at Wembley thanks to Ben Watson’s stoppage-time goal.
That season the Latics were relegated to the Championship, have never returned to the top flight and now top League One.
West Ham visit today in the fourth round, after Hammers boss Moyes said: “If you went back and asked the Wigan people, they would have said that they would rather not win the FA Cup but stay in the Premier League.
“It was undoubtedly an achievement, but if you look back I think ® ® they would have swapped it for Premier League survival.”
But Cook insists the club’s big day at Wembley was still worth its weight in gold to the fans.
“Nowadays money has overtaken football memories,” said the Latics boss. “If that’s the case going forward then it’s not great for the game, is it?
“Fans want those days. I’m a football fan myself and you live for those moments – you remember them forever.
“You are reminded of that win over City with the pictures around the DW Stadium and the training ground, and of course it meant a lot to Dave Whelan and his family.
“If you look now at some of the biggest clubs in the country, some have gone a long time without winning trophies.
“That’s why you travel and why West Ham are bringing 5,000 fans to Wigan. Those fans are desperate to get to Wembley and see their club win a trophy.
Peak
“Once you climb Everest, it’s something you can look back on and say, ‘We’ve done it’. It will be the peak memory for the vast majority of our supporters.”
Wigan lead League One by five points and Cook believes if they knock out the Hammers it would not come as much of a shock.
He added: “We don’t see it as a giant-killing act if we beat West Ham – and that’s not being disrespectful.
“It’s because of the different teams that clubs are playing now. They are not picking first-teamers all the time.”