The build up to Whitley v Coalville: We won't be distracted says Robson.

The Bay are trying to maintain a magnificent record of 25 games unbeaten in the Vase, which stretches back to the 2008 semi final first leg when they lost 4-0 to Lowestoft. They beat Glossop from the North West Counties League by 2-0 two years ago, and then thumped Wroxham 6-1 from the Ridgeons League. But they have experienced an inconsistent end to the League season, which saw them fall out of the Northern League top two, missing out on promotion, and having to rely on a possible cherry pick by the FA for moving up to the Evostik League.

Robson, who has been at Whitley for five seasons, and has played in the last two finals said: “We will be fully focussed on the game. We’ll be going down there to enjoy the day again, but we’re going with the full intention of winning the Vase. Yes, we’ll be in the limelight having won the competition for the past two years, but the day will only be memorable if we get the right result. We’ve got experience of the build up, the atmosphere and the facilities, and we know what to expect. We know that the build up is very different to ordinary league games, and can be distracting if you don’t keep your focus.

“Maybe last year, Wroxham could be forgiven for getting absorbed in the atmosphere of the big day on their first visit there. It’s an easy thing to do when you arrive at the stadium, go out on to the pitch, have a good look around and then experience the dressing rooms. Maybe their minds wandered. Hopefully that won’t happen to us. I can’t imagine any of our players freezing on the day, because several of the side have been to Wembley in the last two years, and their experience will help those who haven’t.”

Robson, who has two Vase winners’ medals in his collection, is certain that Whitley will be at their best.

“Our form has dipped since we got through to the final, and we haven’t played well in some games.

“Even though the team and the squad have been rotated to give some players a break, we still should have picked up some good results instead of losing games.

“But we were back to our best last Saturday against Spennymoor, and again on Monday against Benfield. Maybe, subconsciously, Wembley has been on our minds in the last few weeks.

“Coalville will be our toughest opponents yet in the final. They’re a good strong side and have won their league, and we’re anticipating a close game. But we’ll be avoiding going into too much depth about them, and concentrate more on ourselves.

“We believe that if we can play anywhere near our best, then we’ll be ok – and that’s what we’ve proved in the last two years.”

Manager Ian Chandler will be sticking to the usual routine as they prepare for the big match.

Chandler and his squad won’t be taking in Saturday’s Trophy final between Darlington and Mansfield, and instead they’ll have a training session at Barnet’s facilities nearby.

Coalville have decided that they will accept the invitation to watch the Trophy final to acclimatise to the stadium and the atmosphere, although the crowd for the Trophy will be about double the Vase attendance.

“In the last two seasons, we haven’t gone to the stadium before the big day, because I think it takes something out of the lads,” he points out. “I think it’s good for them that they see the stadium for the first time on the day of the game, but it’s only enjoyable if you win.”

Whitley will be defending what is probably the longest ever undefeated run in any senior cup competition. They are unbeaten in 25 Vase ties, going all the way back to the first leg of the semi final against Lowestoft in 2008, which they lost 4-0.

“We learned a lot that day about ourselves, and how to prepare for big games. Since then, we’ve believed in preparing for matches as best we can.

“Coalville look a very good team on paper. They’ve scored 153 goals this season and conceded 53 – we were like that a year, two years ago. The good thing is, that they have conceded goals, whereas now we’ve got the best defence in the league. We kept 24 clean sheets in the league this season, the best in the league.

“Some may think that only striker Paul Chow scores goals for us, but that’s not right. Yes, Chowy has scored in every round and scored a hat trick in the semi final against Poole Town, but plenty of other players can score goals, Damon Robson and Lee Kerr also scored in the semi final, for example. Paul Robinson and Craig MacFarlane have also been amongst the goals. And don’t forget that our defenders score from setpieces as well!

“We’ve had a good look at Coalville in recent weeks. We’ve targeted people to work on and nullify, just as we’ve done in previous rounds and previous years. They have one or two players that we need to keep an eye on – but they’ll be looking at us and thinking that they need to look at six or seven. Coalville will need to be on top of their game to beat us.”

Whitley Bay assistant manager Steve Cuggy admits that it’s a “surreal feeling” that the Seahorses are playing at Wembley on Sunday afternoon for the third successive year.

Whitley are on the brink of becoming the first team to win three successive finals in any competition at Wembley, and Cuggy says: “It was something we didn’t expect when we first won the competition two years ago against Glossop, and even by the law of averages we thought that we might have lost by now.

“We’ve come up against some good sides, and had one or two close shaves. For example, Herne Bay were very good opponents until Paul Chow scored in the dying minutes, and we were losing at one stage against Poole Town in the semi final.

“Dunston was probably the worst possible draw for us in the quarter finals, because they know us inside out, and they weren’t worried about our reputation.”

However, Whitley’s character carried them past all those potential banana skins. “With all due respect, I think the difference between us and most of the top twelve teams in the Northern League is our great character and team spirit. There’s maybe only two or three that can match it, and in the future I could see a team like Spennymoor winning the Vase.”

In previous seasons, Whitley haven’t been renowned for keeping clean sheets, but this season they have the best shutout record in the league with 23, one more than champions Spennymoor.

“Our defence isn’t something we’ve really worked on. In past seasons, we’ve had the attitude that if the opposition score one, we’ll try and score two. We lost players through various reasons at the start of the season, and the players that have come in have made a difference.

“The tighter defending has just happened, it hasn’t been by design. Maybe we haven’t scored as many as previous seasons, but we haven’t conceded many either.

“Now that Chris Moore and Josh Gillies have left, maybe we don’t have anything so explosive, but we still have matchwinners in the team. Paul Chow has scored in every round, but there are still plenty of players who can chip in and score goals. David pounder played in defence at Spennymoor and scored a cracker, Craig MacFarlane has scored a few lately, Damon Robson has chipped in, and Lee Kerr can always be relied upon.”

Gavin Fell, another member of the management team, has watched opponents Coalville, who are in their first ever final, in action. “Gavin does a really professional job on our opponents both in the Vase and the Cup, and he provides a very good 90 minute snapshot. 99 times out of a 100 he’s been spot on about them, and he reckons he’s spotted some weaknesses in Coalville that we’ll be able to exploit. He says that they’re very good going forward, hard working and physical, and the two lads up front are quite good. That’s what you need to get to the vase final – we should know!”

It looks as if Whitley’s talisman, Paul Chow, will be fit to play after recovering from an ankle injury. Chow, who scored after just 21 seconds last year, has scored a remarkable 25 goals for Whitley in the Vase, 12 of them this season.

Coalville, meanwhile, come into the game in good heart. They clinched the Midland Alliance championship on goal difference from Tipton last weekend by thrashing Alvechurch 9-0 away from home.