Harriers boss ready to be a thorn in Sunderland's side

Harriers were today getting ready to travel ahead of the hotly-anticipated fourth round tie with the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light.

Thorn's side are rank outsiders to pull off a shock against their Premier League hosts but the manager believes his players are more than capable of causing a few surprises.

"We have a good group of players, they are good footballers," he said. "I think sometimes they have not realised how good they actually are.

"We have a firm belief in what they can do and what they can go on and achieve. As I've said before we will go there and we'll have a gameplan.

"It's important everyone knows their jobs, everyone knows what is required. We are not going just to make the numbers up."

Thorn and assistant Craig Hughes were at Old Trafford on Wednesday night as Gus Poyet's side beat Manchester United on penalties to reach the Capital One Cup final.

And while the hosts are likely to make several changes, he is confident his side will be fully prepared for whatever comes their way.

"We learned loads on Wednesday," he said. "You like to have a look at the team you are going to play and that is something we are quite big on.

"Even though there might be different players who will play on the day, you get an idea of what they are about.

"We will be prepared. We will go there knowing what we have to do and aim to give a good account of ourselves."

"We can play with a bit more freedom but we will also concentrate on what we work on and that is important too, to have a solid base on which to build on.

"We will be prepared for the game, stay in it and you never know what will happen."

Thorn, who has no major injury concerns ahead of the game, again warned his side they must be ready to give their all for the cause.

"You can't leave anything on the pitch," he said. "You can never come off the pitch thinking I wish I'd done that or done this.

"If you think that, 90 per cent of the people thinking that are usually substituted.

"It's a massive day for the club, we are really looking forward to it. It's a privilege to be in charge going there on such a big occasion."