Guiseley v Sutton United: Juggling FA Cup and league is not an issue for Lions

Just over a year after the PE teacher took charge at Nethermoor Park, the Lions are third in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. Beating Sutton United on Saturday goes hand in hand with the league.

It is easy to see why Richards is such a fan of the world's most famous domestic cup competition.

"I don't like 'This isn't our priority this year,'" says Richards. "I might make a couple of changes with personnel, but we've built a squad where one in, one out, the quality doesn't change.

"We've had a county cup game within this (period between the qualifying rounds and Saturday) and played a team three leagues below us, but I still took a strong side. We won that 4-0. It's really important to get a clean sheet.

"We had a game against Leek Town on Tuesday in the league, and in line with the laws, they said they would postpone it if we wished. But we wanted to play it.

"It could have easily been one where players were subconsciously or consciously not at it 100 per cent. We ran out comfortable 4-1 winners and managed to get all five subs on. We came out with no new injuries.

"The players are in really good form. We've won eight and drawn one of our last nine games."

The Football Association have put attractive prize money into the early stages of their blue riband competition, giving something for romantics and pragmatists to play for. Victory on Saturday is worth £47,750, but even losing will bring in £15,800, and there is minimum prize money of £21,200 in round two.

"We're expecting a big crowd," said Richards. "There's never been that pressure from the club, but we have to be aware of prize money. If you want to improve the ground or reinvest in the squad, it's excellent.

"We got 1,600 at the (third qualifying round) Bradford (Park Avenue) game. "Then we played Leiston away and even though the gate money wasn't huge, it did give us publicity.

"And it's memories for the players. When I was at Halifax Town I got as far as the second round (in 1999). We lost in a replay to Reading. I remember Darren Caskey scoring the penalty at the Madejski Stadium, which was very new.

"As a manager, I've taken my two previous clubs (Stocksbridge Park Steels and Penistone Church) the furthest they've ever been in the FA Cup. The players still talk about that.

"I think this is the 11th time in Guiseley’s 117-year history they've got to the first round. They've only got to the second round twice and they were a National League side.

"Hopefully if there's new supporters coming, they may come back for two, three, four more games.

"There's a backlog of games, but winning builds momentum."

Playing a South London team from the Conference brings challenges for a part-time club, but nothing Richards is afraid of.

"I'm doing my research on Sutton," he says. "We'll train as we would do for any other game. But there'll be over 2,000 watching so we've got to use that as a motivation.

"Our head of football watches as many games as he can, so he went to Sutton against Harrogate Town. I've not been able to watch them live but I've got plenty of footage.

"They've got some real pace and power in wide areas. They've got good footballers in attacking midfield, but they are quite direct.

"Their pitch is an excellent surface, so they do try and play when they can, but they're quite happy to go forward very quickly.

"If I was playing a team two leagues below, I'd try and play on the front foot so we'll expect them to get the ball forward quickly and really commit numbers forward."

Juggling the day job is not easy.

"We get school holidays, so that's the time I spend with my family," he says. "When you're doing well, it can get even busier, but I can't complain.

"I'm the vice-principal at Penistone Grammar School and I teach A-Level PE. It's my 12th year.

"I live in a little village called Shepley. We train at Lightcliffe Academy, about half-an-hour away.

"Midweek games are a bit of a nightmare with traffic, but my coach lives around the corner and my assistant lives in Thorpe Hesley so we're always travelling together.

"My pupils aren't fully aware of Guiseley but know the level it's at and what I do. We also have a number of teaching staff who follow non-league football. A few are going."

And whenever this run ends, it will be back to pushing for promotion from the seventh tier. They are three points behind leaders Redcar Athletic with a game in hand.

"When we took over at the end of October (2025), they were out of every competition and third from bottom," recalls Richards. "My objective was, at this stage, to be in every competition and above two points per game and we've achieved that.

"Only one goes up automatically but there are now six play-off places. We've got to make sure iIf we don't win it, we fall into a high play-off position."

Then this experience of knockout football will come in handy.

"With my previous clubs, we won promotions in the play-offs," he points out. "Even though at the time you're not thinking about it, I can reference the cup wins as I give my teamtalk.

"It's a long season, so every little bit helps."