JON UNDERWOOD believes Slough Town delivered the best performance that he has ever got from a team during his managerial career on Saturday.

The Rebels thrashed Gainsborough Trinity 6-0 in the FA Cup first round in what Underwood describes as probably his best day in football.

He was delighted with how Slough were able to raise their game and floor the National League North club, with The Rebels now just one win from a potentially ‘life-changing’ match in round three.

Underwood told the Observer: “Neil Baker and I have been managing for seven or eight years and that’s the best performance by a mile that any one of our teams has ever put out in what for us was the biggest game of our careers.

“I’m just full of admiration for our boys and massively proud. It’s probably my best day in football.

“I’ve been in football for quite a long time and I’m hugely proud. It was just an absolute joy to watch them.

“Gainsborough is a difficult place to come. I know the score might not make it look like that, but they’ve been going really well in National League North, which is really competitive.

“I just thought our decision making from start to finish was just spot on. We were just so calm on the ball and we competed well.

“They’re a physical side at times but we competed well and our attacking play was just devastating. We scored six and could have had 10 at least.

“We looked like scoring every time we went forward and some of those boys were just incredible performance-wise.”

He continued: “We were reasonably confident. We watched Gainsborough play and didn’t think there would be much between the two teams.

“We’ve got a lot of belief in our players but still thought it would be a really difficult game. But, we just went up a couple of levels, from where we’ve been in the league.

“At times we play teams in our league that we’re expected to beat and we do beat them, but we’re not always at our best.

“You want players to deliver in the big games and they’ve absolutely shown that.

“A part of me says I’m surprised by the level of performance, but I felt we had more in us over the last month or two and we’ve gone and displayed it for everyone to see. I’m just really proud of the performance.”

Looking back over the first round drubbing of Gainsborough, Underwood said: “We were a bit disappointed we didn’t go two up in the first-half.

“We had a couple of chances with the Mark Nisbet volley from a corner and James Dobson when he intercepted the back pass, and we hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite us.

“I thought we were well worth the lead at half-time. We had a bright sun in our eyes and a bit of wind against us, a couple of things that made it a little bit tricky, but we just coped really well with it.

“It was the two early goals in the second-half that shocked them. We expected them to come at us and they just never really got a chance to attack.

“Then, right at the end, we had Jack Turner, who hasn’t done an awful lot in the game, pulling off what’s probably a world class save.”

Thanking the travelling Slough supporters, Underwood said: “They were just incredible, fantastic numbers and the great noise they made just blew us away really. To travel that distance whether by coach, train or car, and make the noise they did was just superb.

“They made the noise before the game, during and after, and I’m just really pleased we could deliver that sort of performance for them.

“It’s one of those performances when you say ‘I was there on that day’ and if people weren’t here they would be gutted at missing that one, but I’m glad that we could give them such a special day."

Slough have been drawn at home to League One club Rochdale in the second round, and Underwood explained it would be a fantastic occasion to fill Arbour Park.

He said: "If we can fill Arbour Park that would be a great occasion but we're one game away now from what can be a life-changing match for us, and the money that the club could earn out of it if we were to get one of the real big boys.

"It's going to be such an exciting month now.

"The priority is always the league and we've got to make sure we're just picking up points, but it's going to be hard not to think about this one in four weeks time."

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