Fulham midfielder John Collins has too many scars from semi-final battles at Hibernian and
Celtic to be overly concerned about the little local difficulty that stands
in Fulham's way tomorrow. But he is aware that a place in history beckons
for every player who pulls on a white shirt at Villa Park as they chase
that dream of European football.
Collins, who provides the grace notes in Fulham's midfield, says: "Getting
the club into Europe for the first time is the challenge that has been laid
down to all the players. We all know that this is an unbelievably big game
for Fulham and just being in a semi-final against a big club like Chelsea
with a chance of winning it shows just how far we have come.
"We all believe we can become as big a club as Chelsea and that
has to be the target. I don't think we are a million miles from making
the breakthrough but, for me, big clubs win things and the last stage
of the journey is the most difficult, getting to the cup finals and taking
on the big boys in the league."
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John Collins believes in
victory over Chelsea
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To that end, Collins is talking not just about tomorrow but the final itself.
At 34, he is not a man who can treat a semi-final as a nice day out, though
his attitude was no different when he first played in one for Hibernian
as a 17-year-old. "There's no point just being happy to participate,"
he says. "We're going there to enjoy it, yes, but believing we can
win it as well. And that goes for the final, too."
Any inferiority complex Fulham might have carried into a game against
neighbours who have always lived in the bigger house and had the flashier
cars has been dispelled, he says, by the two Premiership encounters between
the sides this season, their first in the top flight for 34 years.
If nothing else, Fulham have showed character and resilience, coming
from behind at Craven Cottage to force a 1-1 draw and twice coming from
behind at Stamford Bridge only to lose to Mikael Forssell's 89th-minute
goal.
"I would think they would respect us after those games. But both
teams like to attack and I will be surprised if the game is not open and
free-flowing." The match, he adds, should also help fans to feel
again the white heat of local rivalry, which had gone off the boil through
lack of practice.
The Premiership encounters were pale imitations of the sort of derbies
he participated in at Celtic but he says: "You have to expect that
when the teams haven't played each other that regularly over the past
30 years. The atmosphere is bound to diminish a bit because of that generation
gap but I'm sure you won't be aware of it tomorrow. And we hope to be
playing them, and beating them, a lot more in the years to come."
Collins has been impressed that Fulham's support is mostly drawn from
those fans who have lived through the club's darkest hours and not those
who spotted a bandwagon worth leaping on when Mohamed Al Fayed arrived
on a white charger with saddlebags full of cash.
He says: "It wasn't a huge fan base when I came and it's still not
that big. But most of the supporters have seen the club through thick
and thin and were there when they were in the Third Division a few years
ago.
"Even so, Fulham work really hard in the community, going to schools
and inviting kids here. The club wants to make sure that the community
stays with the club and realise that the club wants to be part of the
community. That is important for any club but particularly so at Fulham,
who are small but growing."
Collins, sadly, will not be watched by one of his biggest supporters
tomorrow. His second child, six-year-old Hannah, has been told she cannot
attend because the 7pm kick-off would mean her getting home way after
bedtime.
"Whoever made the decision, it was a wrong one and Hannah has been
in tears this week," he confesses. By bedtime tomorrow, however, he
hopes to be sharing her tears of happiness.