Familiarity breeds success for Bay

The FA Carlsberg Vase
The Final
Winning club receives £20,000 and runner-up receives £10,000

Whitley Bay boss Ian Chandler hopes his team can take advantage of familiarity on Sunday when they return to Wembley for the second successive year to contest The FA Vase Final.

Chandler, as a player, led his team to Vase success as a player in 2002 and then lifted the trophy again last year as manager so this game provides the chance for him to make a little bit of history at the north-east club.

“Having won The FA Vase as a player, then as manager last year, this means so much to me personally,” said Chandler.

“We have the chance to make history and join a small group of clubs who have lifted this prestigious trophy three times.

“This is the biggest prize at our level of football, so if we can be successful, I’ll be extremely proud and will want to savour the occasion.”

Having reached The Final just twelve months ago, Chandler feels he has been in a better position to help prepare his side for their games in The Vase this season and that has certainly helped in terms of superstitions, as Bay will be replicating their pre-match plans from 2009.

“Last year was a new experience for many of us,” he revealed.

“We were nervous and didn’t know what to expect from the day at Wembley.

“This year has been a little different in that we’ve been able to plan a lot more; we’re staying in the same hotel and we used the same training ground, so it will be more familiar to us.”

Chandler also revealed that should success come their way on Sunday, it will be dedicated towards one of last season’s side Mark Taylor, who will be unfortunately missing this year.

“Mark Taylor was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease at the start of the year and he was probably the fittest player on the pitch for us here against Glossop last year,” explained Chandler.

“We’ll be trying to win it for Mark, for us, for the fans and for the town.”

To buy your copy of The FA Vase Final match programme, click here.