Team news | Hull City fans at Wembley
STEVE Bruce has spent FA Cup final week saying all the right things. The significance of this day to a maligned region and the importance of his players seizing a moment that may never come again.
The Hull City boss has spoken about making sure others enjoy the occasion, lapping it all up and breathing Wembley in.
Yet this is Bruce's big day, too. This is his reward for the hard yards that have come during 15 years as a manager.
A total of 681 games have led him to the top of Olympic Way this afternoon and at its end could be the stage for his greatest hour in football.
"This is the pinnacle for me as a manager and it might not get any better. I know that," said Bruce.
"That sums it up. After 600 and odd games this is the pinnacle. I doubt I'm ever going to win the Premier League as a manager so the FA Cup is the next big thing.
"There is more satisfaction from winning as a manager than when you are a player, and that applies to any game. So to do it at Wembley would mean more without a doubt
"When something like a Cup final comes around then we have to make the most of it."
Bruce has certainly done that so far. On Thursday morning he was up with the larks ahead of inviting the local media into his office. There were complaints that he had barely slept a wink but by 7.30am he was bouncing around City's training ground in Cottingham like a lolloping schoolboy.
Just as Bruce has noticed in his players this week, it was impossible to ignore the spring in his step.
"I've really enjoyed it," he said. "I was there with the media for three hours on Tuesday. Remarkable. But it's great for the club.
"It's been the typical glamour of the FA Cup final and it's rounding off a really great couple of years."
It began with his appointment as Nick Barmby's successor in June 2012 and quickly gathered pace.
Within a year the adventure had yielded automatic promotion out of the Championship before survival in the Premier League was secured with relative ease. The Europa League qualification that comes with reaching this year's FA Cup final has made a mess of City's glass ceiling.
Bruce wonders where the ride will end but, at 53, he has been around long enough to know these sun-drenched days will not last forever.
"Statistics would tell, after 600 games, this is my best chance of silverware. I certainly won't do another 600.
"I always hope I'm not selfish enough to go on too long. Maybe I will say to myself two or three years down the line 'Steve, it might be time'. I honestly don't know how long I'll continue for but the big thing for me is just to enjoy it all.
"Monday and Tuesday's training was something I really enjoyed taking. The energy about the group has been great. That's the best part of the job."
Bruce has no appetite to follow the lead of his mentor Sir Alex Ferguson and be managing at 71, but it appears improbable he will walk away from the industry any time soon. The crackle, as he is known to call it, is still there.
"You can't take the ups and get too high or you'll get too low when things aren't going well," he explained.
"I was asked to say a few words on the pitch on Sunday (following the 2-0 defeat to Everton) and all I could think of was Browny singing that song!
"That'll never be me. But he had it right in his words. This is the best trip.
"I enjoy coming into work and I want my staff to be the same. That's how you get the best out of people.
"Whether they're the groundsman or the tea lady, I want them all to enjoy their roles the best they can.
"It's not just you. It's the enjoyment you see in your staff that's great.
"Steve Agnew, my assistant, has only been with me two years and he must think it's Christmas. He works tirelessly behind the scenes alongside my tried and trusted staff and it's great for them."
Should City win at Wembley for a third time, though, the plaudits will head in only one direction. Outside his former home at the Stadium of Light there is a statue of 1973 FA Cup final manager Bob Stokoe. A similar one at the KC perhaps?
"So the pigeons can ***t on it, yeah?" was Bruce's quick-fire response with that trademark chuckle.
But behind the humour the City boss knows exactly what victory over Arsenal today would mean. At Norwich he was part of the 1985 League Cup win, the Canaries' only honour in the last 50 years, while at Manchester United he helped begin the most dominant period in English football history with success in the 1990 FA Cup final. Legends are born on days such as these.
"We have waited 110 years for this and we are not exactly steeped in football history. So, why not?" he said.
"Sometimes your name is just on the Cup. I think back to Brighton away and us being three minutes away from going out. Or going to Southend for a really, really horrible Cup tie.
"I made nine changes at Middlesbrough and people asked me 'What are you doing?' But that, for me, was one of our best performances of the season. We slaughtered them. You just hope it is written in the stars and our name is on the Cup."
City are unfancied by pundits and bookmakers alike so Bruce is asked where victory over Arsenal would rank in the history of FA Cup final upsets.
"The biggest shock to me was Newcastle losing to Liverpool in 1974," said Bruce, revealing his boyhood affection for the Magpies. "That was a terrible shock! A shock to the system. We never had a kick.
"Wigan against Manchester City last year was one of the biggies. Everyone remembers Sunderland beating Leeds in 1973. And Wimbledon against Liverpool in 1989. But this would definitely rank with them all.
"For me, this is what the Cup is all about. I remember, when I was a kid, that day when Ronnie Radford scored against Newcastle. As a kid, I was thinking, 'How can Newcastle lose to Hereford of non-league?' It was ridiculous but exactly what the Cup is all about."
All of the historic upsets mentioned by Bruce are celebrated to this day. Anniversaries bring aged team-mates back together to remember former glories. How about meeting up on May 17, 2044?
"Thirty year reunion? Will I still be around in 30 years? I'm not sure.
"But the players will. I have five Irishmen, I have got a mad Jock and they have a terrific spirit among the group.
"They are all desperate to either be a Premier League player or, like Jake Livermore and Tom Huddlestone, establish themselves as Premier League footballers. They have done that now. To cap it all off by getting to a Wembley Cup final is wonderful for them."
And wonderful for Bruce, too. City fans can only hope his 682nd game as a manager was worth the wait.
