TOM WADE is out to mastermind another famous Blyth Spartans FA Cup victory – but admits he never wanted to manage his local side!
Former Gateshead and Harrogate Town manager Wade supported the club as a youngster and watched his heroes secure some famous Cup scalps along the way.
The club reached the fifth round in 1977-78 and the Spartans boss was there every step of the way as Chesterfield and Stoke were swept aside before they eventually lost to Wrexham after a replay at Newcastle’s St James’ Park.
With the club being so close to his heart, and the fact that he only lives half a mile from Croft Park, Wade says he was reluctant to take the job. But now he’s reaping the rewards.
He said: “I’m a Blyth lad and only live down the road from the ground. I always vowed never to manage the club because it’s on my doorstep and everybody is always talking about the football team.
“It’s nice but you can’t switch off. The chairman asked me to help out a couple of years ago and then later I became the manager – it’s not too bad when you’re doing well as we are now though!
“I used to play Sunday League with a lad called Steve Jones who scored the winner against Chesterfield in 1978. I went to all of those games on that run. We ended up playing Wrexham in a replay at St James Park with 42,000 there. That was magical.”
Now Wade wants to make some more history of his own. The Evo-Stik NPL Premier side saw off Altrincham in the first round to set up a trip to League Two strugglers Hartlepool United on Friday night, and claim a handy £72,000 live broadcasting fee.
Wade and his squad will be hoping to go another step further in front of the BBC Two cameras and he says they’ll be going to Victoria Park to do one thing – attack.
“Blyth is a tough old mining and port town,” he said. “This means everything to me and we’ll be going to represent the town and the people.
“I’ve got a couple of reports on Hartlepool but it’s all about how we set up and how we perform. We won’t be changing what we’ve been doing over the past two years.
“They’ve got some excellent players and will be expected to beat us. We’ll go there, play some attacking football and just enjoy it.”
