Wigan manager Uwe Rosler will try to block out schoolboy memories when he faces his former club Manchester City in Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final at the Etihad.
Rosler spent four years at the club after joining in 1994 and the former striker was inducted into the Blues ‘Hall of Fame’ in 2009.
The 45-year-old joined the Latics in December from Brentford and he is keen not to let the emotion get the better of him when he gets a warm welcome from the City faithful.
“There are not many managers getting that away from home from both sets of supporters maybe giving a good reception,” he told Latics player.
“The main thing is not the reception but to focus on job in hand. I have responsibility to my owner, players and staff. It will not be easy but I have to focus on most important thing; to deliver the result for my club.
“Personally going back to my first club in English football, I will try to take the emotion out of the game and I will try to focus and hopefully I will make the right decisions.”
The former East German international has fond memories of his time with City, during which he made 176 appearances scoring 64 goals for the team.
In his autobiography Rosler told of how Blues fans inspired him beat cancer, when a friend called up from the City of Manchester Stadium so he could hear the crowd chanting his name when he was in hospital.
“I was trained as a schoolboy to come into English football and Manchester City gave me a chance,” he said.
“I came at the right time with the right players around me who made it very easy to settle.
“I had a fantastic manager in Brian Horton who gave me the chance and believed in me and nursed me through difficult times. There was quite quickly a bond to the fans and the rest is history.”
Ahead of the match Rosler has been named Sky Bet Championship manager of the month for February after guiding Wigan to four wins from five matches in the month.
And he is keen not to let this weekend’s result stop the momentum that the Latics have built up, whatever the outcome.
“We want to keep the momentum but obviously it is very difficult to keep the momentum against Manchester City away from home but you never know,” he said.
“For me it is very important that we compete and make ourselves a worthwhile opponent and make our supporters proud. That means hanging in for as long as possible –you never know what can happen.”
Image courtesy of Manchester City via YouTube, with thanks.
