Warnock backs auto Euro ticket
NEIL WARNOCK is a 50-year veteran of the FA Cup but reckons it can only be saved by a golden ticket into the Champions League.
The Cardiff City boss takes his side to Fulham today insisting the old trophy needs to be a route to bigger riches.
“The Premier League has taken over and it’s number one now in everyone’s eyes, other than the romantics,” said Warnock. “The teams in the bottom half of the Premier League play their reserves in the FA Cup and the top-half sides use it to try out a few players.
“For me, the winners of the FA Cup should have an automatic place into the Champions League – that would make it more appealing to everybody.”
Feet
Warnock’s own love affair with the Cup goes back to 1967 when he was a 19-year-old winger at Chesterfield.
He also made his mark as a young manager at then non-league Burton Albion in the early Eighties.
“They were great days for the Cup. All the media would come round. I was a chiropodist then and I put on my white coat and had a big foot in front of me.
“I have never been knocked out by a non-league club, but that is the most nervous you feel as a manager.”
It will be feet up for a number of Cardiff’s regular players today, though, as Warnock fighting relegation is his priority.
He added: “I would rather the fans know we are going to be playing some fringe players. I spoke to Steve Bruce after the Aston Villa game last week and asked him who he was playing in the third round. When he said Spurs I just said: “You lucky b***** – a good pay day, get knocked out and get on with the league.”