Club News

Craig's FA Cue

CRAIG Brewster is no stranger to cup football.

Argyle’s assistant manager scored the only goal in the 1993-94 Scottish Cup final, giving Dundee United their first ever silverware in the competition. 

The feeling of the Hampden Roar may not be present when Argyle travel to the One Call Stadium on November 5 for their first round tie of the Emirates FA Cup against Mansfield Town, but it is clear that Scotsman Craig understands the value of England’s most prestigious cup competition. 

“It is great to be involved with,” he said. “When I was in Scotland, the Scottish Cup was a fantastic trophy to go for, and the FA Cup here is exactly the same. Everybody wants a good FA Cup run, and it would be nice to get a run for this club. 

“It’s one game you have to deal with. One game from being in the hat for the next round. We have to there and win. 

“It won’t be a distraction from the league. It’s another Saturday, and we’ll go there determined to put on a good performance and win. We played against them here earlier on in the season, but cup days are totally different.”

The trip to Mansfield will kick off a busy week of travelling for Argyle. Following a Saturday game at Mansfield, the Pilgrims will head to Swansea City for their final group game in the Checktrade Trophy, then saddle up once more to face Crewe Alexandra in Sky Bet League Two the following weekend. 

Three games in eight days, and comfortably over 1,000 miles of travelling. ‘Comfortable’, though, is the watchword, says Craig, given that provisions are in place to look after the players during their transit. 

“Being in involved in this club, you know you have to do long distances,” he said. “We have a nice bus, we stay in nice hotels. Everything is organised, and the players are well looked after. They have produced, up to now, really good away performances as a team. We have to continue that throughout the season. 

“You always want a home draw, but we’re a team that is very confident at the minute, and we’ll go to any place. It would be nice to have a run in the cup, but every club in the country is saying that.”