Poppies boss Lee feels victory at Leeds is not beyond his team
Lee Harper insists Kettering Town can beat Leeds United at Elland Road and earn a dream FA Cup third-round tie at the world's most famous club.
The mighty Manchester United await the Poppies or Leeds after Harper's men claimed a 1-1 draw with the Coca-Cola League One leaders at Rockingham Road yesterday.
The Poppies were 12 minutes away from heading to Old Trafford when Jermaine Beckford grabbed Leeds' equaliser after Ian Roper's first goal for the club had given the hosts a shock lead just past the hour.
The odds will be firmly stacked against Kettering in the replay, which is likely to be a week tomorrow, against the Yorkshire giants.
But Harper, who was excellent in goal, insists his team can do the unthinkable.
"There is no reason why we can't win up there," he said.
"It's going to be hard but we won at Hartlepool and we haven't lost to a Football League club in the FA Cup since I have been here. We have lost to a Premier League club but not one in the Football League.
"The prize at the end of the replay will be enough to get the lads focused. We will give it a really good go. It might not be enough but we will do our very best.
"It's a fantastic opportunity for us especially with the way things are.
"We don't know if we are going to get past this season because the council won't help us out on the ground front.
"But this day just shows what it means to the fans to keep this club alive and if we can get past Leeds, which is going to be a huge task, what better stage for us to highlight our situation and plight than a game like that?
"It's going to be extremely hard for us. But we will watch the video of this game together and see if we can work out a way of getting a result up there."
After two defeats in his first two matches as manager, Harper admitted he was proud of the effort his team put in against Simon Grayson's side.
"I though they were terrific and we are all a little bit disappointed not to have seen it through," Harper added.
"I am so proud of every single one of our players. We tried to work to a plan and I couldn't have asked for any more from the lads."
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Weather for Kettering
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -0 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: West
