Bay head south full of confidence

The FA Carlsberg Vase Final
2.30pm, Sunday 10 May 2009
Wembley Stadium
Winning club will receive £20,000 from The FA and runners-up will receive £10,000

Northern League side Whitley Bay will head into this Sunday's FA Vase Final with Glossop North End full of confidence after three consecutive league wins, as well as knocking out last year's finalists, Lowestoft Town, in the Semi-Final.

"You've got to be confident," said manager Ian Chandler. "We respect Glossop but we're on a good run and after beating a side as good as Lowestoft in the Semi-Final, we're looking forward to it."

The optimism within the Whitley camp is not surprising after an emphatic 5-0 victory at Ashington on May Day. Two games in three days over the holiday period shouldn't hamper the north-east outfit's chances either, as they made the most of their 22- man squad.

Chandler explained: "We left three of our regulars in the stands and had four more on the bench against Ashington, with The FA Vase Final in mind."

It seems as though rotation is not the sole domain of the Premiership.

Having such a large squad creates a dilemma in itself as it makes selection all the harder. "But it's a nice dilemma," Chandler continued.

His biggest decisions seem to centre on the front line, particularly with the return from injury of Paul Robinson. "He played very well against Ashington, he made us tick. Also, he has Football League experience with York and Tranmere which could be vital on the big occasion."

Chandler doesn't believe over-confidence will be a cause of concern though. "I don't think complacency will be a problem. I have a hungry bunch of lads and there's no chance of any of them taking their foot off the gas."

And what kind of a threat will Glossop North End pose? "Well, they have a settled team, their left winger is a very good player and Rick Bailey, their forward, is an obvious goal threat. He has scored plenty of goals so we'll have to pay special attention to that."

For Glossop it will be their first appearance in The Final but Whitley will be looking for a repeat of their previous appearance in The Final seven years ago, when they beat Tiptree United 1-0 to win the trophy for the only time in their history.