Rushall dreaming of York win

Rushall will head to York tomorrow to continue their FA Cup adventure with a rallying call from famous old boy Zat Knight ringing in their ears.

And Pics acting chairman John Allen is hoping that victory over the Blue Square Premier 'big boys' will help recoup the transfer fee the club never received for the England international.

Villa star Knight was back at Dales Lane last night along with the FA Cup itself as the countdown continued to Rushall's fourth qualifying round showdown with the Minstermen.

And Allen reveals he still gets 'stick' from the club's fans for letting Knight leave Dales Lane for Fulham for a set of tracksuits.

He said: "He was only with us for eight weeks but people still ask me why we never got him on a contract so we could get a fee for him.

"To be honest we did try but he had an agent and once the agent was involved there was no chance."

Knight spent less than two months at Rushall, much of which was spent in the reserves, and Allen attempted to tie him down to a contract once he went for trials with Albion, Birmingham and Benfica.

But he eventually signed for Fulham without Rushall being due a fee and Allen insists the Pics are still waiting for a delivery of trainers from the West London club.

Allen said: "I had a phonecall from Kevin Keegan who said he wanted to sign Zat. I said we couldn't ask for a fee but asked if they would 'look after us'.

"They said they would send a set of tracksuits and a set of trainers. We had the tracksuits but we're still waiting for the trainers."

Allen, a former Rushall manager, is hoping history repeats itself tomorrow as the club chase the £10,000 windfall they would collect from defeating York.

Hednesford, with Allen as assistant manager, beat the Minstermen on their route to their famous meeting with Middlesbrough in the third round in 1997.

Allen said: "We beat them 1-0 and it was a fantastic night at Keys Park, and if course it helped to set up that great trip to Middlesbrough.

"We have a massive task on our hands tomorrow but, the FA Cup being what it is, you can never say anything is impossible."

Current Pics boss Paul Holleran will send his Rushall troops out at York with one simple order: "Enjoy it."

Holleran knows Olympic are massive underdogs to reach the first round proper and believes relishing the occasion could bring out the best in his players.

"This is what the FA Cup is all about when small teams like Rushall get to pit their wits against teams with the pedigree of York City," said Holleran, who is expecting former Walsall striker Gary Birch to be given the green light by AFC Telford to play.

"We need to enjoy the day. We'll start nice and early, soak the atmosphere up and come 3pm we will give our all.

"We have managed to bridge a gap of one league twice so far but this is a big ask. We're trying to bridge three leagues away to a team that trains full time.

"If my players could train full time I know I would be able to get 20 per cent extra out of them.

"There is a lot to bridge, but it is a funny old game."