Mansfield Town owner John Radford admits he will 'feel' like a little kid when Stags face Arsenal in the FA Cup
Mansfield Town owner John Radford admits he will feel like ‘a little kid’ when he watches his beloved club face Arsenal.
Stags will lock horns with the Premier League leaders on Saturday as they go in search of a famous giant-killing in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
And for Radford it will mark a proud moment in his 15.5 years of owning his hometown club.
“I will feel like a little kid,” he revealed. “I am going to go get my photo taken with both managers and hopefully go and say hello to a few of the Arsenal players.
“That's the nice thing about them coming to our place, my movements won’t be as restricted. “The world press will be here and I am going to be busy. If by some grace of God we win, what a fantastic day it is going to be.
“I have always been involved with the club as a fan. I have stood on every terrace in this ground when I came as a fan in the early days.
“To become chairman and own the club, what a privilege. To get in a situation like this where we can play the likes of Arsenal is wonderful.”
The glamour fixture brings back plenty of emotions from the day in 2013 when Stags went toe-to-toe with Liverpool during a third round tie that lives long in the memory.
“It was just a fantastic day, but it was a blur when I look back,” remembers Radford.
“Just getting the stadium ready and preparing for them was amazing. There were so many things around the Liverpool game. It was my twins’ birthday, it was Paul Cox’s birthday and he also got married. It was just a fantastic day and a fantastic build-up.
“The team did us proud against Liverpool and it gave us the momentum to kick on. Going on to win the league was a momentous season.
“The Arsenal manager wants to win all four trophies so they are going to come here armed and I’m hoping our team do the best job they can possibly do, and you just never know.”
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