Creepy Crawley out to give Pulis’ men a real fright

LONDON: Steve Evans sits at his desk underneath a picture of Wayne Rooney in aerial combat with Sergio Torres.

It is just one reminder of last year when then non-league Crawley put up an heroic battle at Old Trafford before finally being beaten 1-0 by Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round.

Afterwards Alex Ferguson told the Crawley boss: “You came here with more imagination than three-quarters of the Premier League.”

Evans, a tough, knockabout Glaswegian like Ferguson himself and a man with what we might describe as a “colourful” past, chuckles at the memory.

He said: “Aye, we did ourselves proud that day. But my players thought I was round the twist when I told them how we would be playing.

“How we wouldn’t be changing our style, that there would be no 45-1 and, instead, we would be playing with three up front.

“They sat there with their tongues hanging out and asked ‘At Old Trafford? Againstrooney, Hernandez and Carrick? This could be eight, boss. Are you sure you’re feeling all right?’

“Well, we showed the world then and we are going to show them again on Sunday.”

Except this time it’s Stoke in the fifth round – and this time League Two Crawley are at home.

Evans added: “I know Tony Pulis and he really didn’t want this. Especially jammed in between two games against Valencia.

“OK, we know if Stoke play as they can, we will get beaten.

“But if they have an off-day and we are at it, we have a proper tie. Tony knows we beat Derby last year, that we have already knocked out Bristol City and Hull this time round.

“He would have rather had Arsenal or Chelsea at home than us here. He certainly doesn’t need this.” — The Sun, London