The FA Cup
Semi-Final
Sunderland v Millwall
04 April 2004
Old Trafford, 1.00pm

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It's almost six years to the day since the Lions snapped him up from the Dr Martens League.

Here he looks back at his roller-coaster ride at The Den.

"I was scoring a few goals in non-League with Cambridge City when Millwall’s Chief Scout Bob Pearson came to see me play on a number of occasions. They decided eventually to take a chance on me and paid £30,000 to sign me, rising to £100,000 after a certain number of appearances.

"It was a big step up for me. I was only training twice a week and my fitness levels were way below the other players at Millwall. It was great to play a few games before the end of that season, and after a proper pre-season I scored 15 League goals and three in the Auto-Windscreens Shield on our run to the Final.

"At the time we had a very young side, and a number of us have stayed together to form the nucleus of the current team. The likes of Robbie Ryan, Tim Cahill, Joe Dolan and Paul Ifill were all around at that time, and it’s great for all of us to be involved in another great Cup run.

"The season after Wembley we lost in the Play-Offs at Wigan, which was a big disappointment.

"I managed to score 25 goals that year and then we eventually won promotion in 2001, going up as champions with 92 points and I won the golden boot with 27 League goals.

"Three years into my professional career things couldn't have been going any better for me, but then I came back from a trip to Tenerife to discover that I had cancer.

"Naturally it came as a major shock, but I was really lifted by the support I got not only from Millwall fans, who were absolutely brilliant, but from many others around the country.

"I certainly remember receiving cards from Sunderland supporters, which was very touching because I’d never played either for or against them, and they are one of the few clubs I’ve played against since, where I’ve never had any abuse.

"It was a very difficult time, but all the cards and emails really kept me going, and although I didn’t play a great deal during that season when we reached the First Division Play-Offs, that was a great achievement for Millwall to get so close to the Premier League having just come out of the Second Division.

"We feel, as I’m sure Sunderland do, that we’ll never have a better chance of reaching an FA Cup Final. It would be a massive achievement for a club of our size to do that."

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