If anyone can mastermind an FA upset over Manchester City, then Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell might be the man you turn to.
The 43-year-old knows what it takes to stop the singing of Blue Moon, having been at Wigan Athletic when they beat City in the 2013 final, before they repeated the feat in the quarter-finals the following season.
“I remember the game plan being very good,” reminisced Caldwell, when asked about Wigan’s 1-0 win at Wembley in 2013.
The Scot was an unused substitute after failing to recover from injury, but, as Wigan club captain, he lifted the trophy at Wembley alongside Emmerson Boyce.
It capped the the greatest day in the club’s history, as they went on to become the first side to win the FA Cup and then get relegated in the same season.
Fifteen places and 42 points separated City and Wigan in the Premier League that season, but it was the Latics who proved worthy winners.
Having run City close in the Premier League four weeks earlier, losing 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium, Roberto Martinez repeated his tactical approach under the Wembley arch.
Lining up in a 3-4-1-2, Wigan’s wing-backs stayed high up the pitch to attack, while the three centre-backs and centre midfielders remained narrow denying any space when City tried to play through them.
City defender Joleon Lescott admitted, “it just threw us… no-one had done what Wigan were doing.”
“I remember players believing in it and committing to it and we deserved to win the game,” Caldwell added.
“We were the better team on the day and players performed to their very best level – it wasn’t a cup game where you rode your luck and you scraped through to win the game, we had a clear game plan that could hurt Man City.
“It’s no different now. We have to be clear on what we need to do, we have to have real clarity on out of possession, in possession, the behaviours and our principles that we need to get right.
“But it’s up to the players once that whistle goes, the players have to go out and perform.”
