Ince perfect

By John Sinnott

Ince was appointed Macc boss in late October

Macclesfield manager Paul Ince is honest enough to admit that his side has not got a "cat in hell's chance" of beating in Chelsea in the FA Cup.

But one thing Ince is sure of is that his team will not come up short as regards fitness against the Premier League champions in Saturday's third round tie at Stamford Bridge.

He attributes much of Macclesfield's recent success to the work of fitness coach Duncan Russell, who was brought to the club by Ince after the two had worked together at Wolves.

The new leaner, fitter Macclesfield have engineered a remarkable revival since Ince was appointed manager in late October.

When Ince arrived, Maccelsfield were hopelessly adrift at the bottom of League Two and without a win in 15 matches.

Since then Macclesfield have notched up eight victories in 14 games including two in the FA Cup to take the team into the third round for only the sixth time in their history.

INCE FACTFILE Full name: Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince Born: 21/10/1967, Ilford Clubs: West Ham, Man Utd, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Wolves, Swindon Honours: 2 Premiership, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 1 Cup Winners Cup

"Bringing Russell in was a great move," Ince told BBC Sport.

"It took the lads a while to get used to the work he did, but now they are looking fitter and stronger and while they are lasting games, other teams are flagging - that has put us on the run we have put together."

As well as Russell, who was in the Army for 22 years, Ince has brought in two masseurs and tried to introduce some of the standards he had become accustomed to as a player with the likes of Manchester United, Inter Milan and Liverpool.

"At those clubs, masseurs, eating the right food and taking the right drinks and doing that together as a team, those things were taken as read.

"It is those finer details that can help you win a game on a Saturday."

As a player, Ince's every whim had been catered for, but when he arrived at Macclesfield he encountered another world where initially he had to organise booking the team coach for away games.

"It was hard that first week," says Ince, who leaves home at 0730 GMT and does not normally return till after 1700 GMT.

"But it has got better and now I can concentrate on keeping the team in the league."

Avoiding relegation from the Football League remains Ince's first priority, but the FA Cup game with Chelsea is important in that the tie is likely to earn the club up to £400,000.

"We're a small club and we need as much financial help as possible if we are to build," said Ince, who took advice from both Sir Alex Ferguson and Glenn Hoddle before he took the Macclesfield job.

"Since I've been here we've had a great start and we have got ourselves back in the pack.

"There's still a long way to go, but if we can bring in five or six players, we will get stronger.

"My aim is to get us in the Championship, but that will take a few quid and a lot of hard work.

Ince has turned round Macclesfield's fortunes

"We're looking to get a new training ground and a new stadium and the money from the Chelsea game will help."

Ince's one concern about Saturday's tie is that his players might be overawed by the occasion.

"When I go back to my first FA Cup final at Wembley - for the first 10 minutes I was thinking I didn't belong.

"But I embraced the occasion and won the man-of-the-match award and I hope my players will be like that.

"I will put the message across to them that they should go out there and have fun and play as if they were up against Lincoln or Barnet.

"When they finish their careers no-one will be able to take away from them that they had played against some of the best players in the world."