Durham’s head of football Lee Sanders says that his side can compete with top tier club Manchester United despite the huge difference in budgets.
The two clubs will renew their rivalry at the Leigh Sports Village in the fifth round of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup this afternoon.
The odds are stacked heavily against Durham but the club’s head of football Sanders says that The Wildcats are ready to rise to the challenge.
“We’ve beat them once this season, drew with them last season and beat them in the Championship, so the record that we have against them is quite good,” Sanders said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “Obviously, it is a different game all together; they changed things up in the Conti Cup as most teams do, so we are expecting a completely different challenge.
“I’m sure that the players and the staff will want to rise to that challenge.”
Manchester United go into the game top of the Barclays Women’s Super League table while Durham are in the bottom half of the Barclays Women’s Championship. Sanders knows the difference in budgets but says that his side can compete.
He said “It is a prestigious competition, we are always proud to represent the club first and foremost, the region. We are playing a huge club in Manchester United and if you look at wage budgets and salaries, they are chalk and cheese but as we have proven before, we can compete.
“Ultimately, we are going there to get a result because you never know who you are going to get next and that can potentially be an even bigger occasion.
“We will just focus on this game and do the best we can.”
Durham are known for their physicality, counter attack and threats from set plays. Their style is not always welcomed by opponents but Sanders says that it is as a result of the commitment and hard work that is put in by everyone at the club.
“All the critics would label us ‘physical’ but I would say it is down to a lot of time spent in the gym, a lot of time spent with the strength and conditioning coaches and just wanting to compete,” Sanders said.
“When you work at a club like ours, it is not just a job, it is a vocation, everybody puts their heart and soul into it, their life into it. It is not just about getting your pay cheque and going home at the end of every week or every month; everybody lives and breathes the club.
“Generally, we don’t have a high turnover of players or staff. We try to look after everybody the best we can and that’s getting better. I always say that pound-for-pound I’m the lowest paid person at the club but at the end of the day, that’s just me; the players and the staff come first.”
Durham’s Vitality Women’s FA Cup fifth round tie at Manchester United kicks-off at 12pm.