Kidderminster Harriers boss Russ Penn: Let’s make history!
Boss Russ Penn has called on Kidderminster Harriers to make history against West Ham in the FA Cup tomorrow.
Non-league Harriers will be huge underdogs when they host the Premier League Hammers at Aggborough in a fourth round tie broadcast live on BBC One. Penn is looking to become only the second manager in club history to take a team to the fifth round of the competition and the first to score a victory over top flight opposition. He said: “I said to the lads we have to believe history can be made. Don’t get me wrong, we could get absolutely spanked. But there is an empty book to be scripted. We have to give it our best shot. We have to respect the opposition. We are playing against elite players. But we have to believe we can produce something, otherwise we might as well just roll over and let them win.”
Penn revealed he had received a message of congratulations from legendary Harriers boss Graham Allner after last month’s third round win over Reading.
Allner’s team reached the fifth round of the competition in 1994, where they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to the Hammers.
Penn added: “Seeing the faces makes me more proud than the results. We have an older fanbase and very loyal supporters who have gone through the mill of late.
“I just hope I can write a bit of history in terms of ‘remember that team, remember that cup run’. We are doing that at the moment.”
