AN awful lot of water has passed under the Football Association Challenge Cup bridge since Craig Harrison was last involved in the world’s oldest knockout competition.

Saturday, January 5, 2002. St James’ Park. Newcastle United 2 (Shearer 39, Acuna 76) Crystal Palace 0. Attendance 38,089.

Palace defender Harrison was an unused substitute at St James’ Park. It was his last involvement in first-team football as a player.

Days later his world was turned upside down, his career all but over as he suffered a horrific leg break playing for the Eagles’ reserves at Reading.

Fifteen years later, Harrison is back on FA Cup duty, returning to Tyneside. This time as a manager, as his Hartlepool United side – in the qualifying round for the first time – go to South Shields.

“My last involvement in the FA Cup was as a player, the game before I broke my leg and my playing career was ended. It was at Newcastle with Crystal Palace,’’ he recalled at Pools’ Durham training ground on Thursday morning.

“That was my last involvement as a player in a competitive game of football….

“So good memories? Not really! But before that I was involved with Middlesbrough teams in the Juninho era, with Bryan Robson and the like.

“There probably couldn’t be a better draw for the region at this stage of the competition.

“The fans - South Shields, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle, Darlington – will all be looking out for this one. It’s good to get as much coverage as we can for North-East football.’’

“It’s a good game for the North-East, a really exciting one. It’s my first involvement in the FA Cup as a manager.’’

Years of success at his previous club, TNS, brought four Welsh cup victories. He’s never going to win the English version with Pools. Victory today, on the back of a positive run of one defeat in nine, would be a decent marker, if an expected one.

Shields, with former Pools boss Martin Scott on their coaching staff, were in the second division of the Northern League in 2015/16.

Since then, they’ve romped through the Northern League, winning four trophies including the FA Vase last season, and progressed to the divison one of the Evo-Stik League. The Mariners have lost one game in 51 and beat both Darlington and York this season in the FA Cup.

It’s the sort of form and record Harrison chalked up at TNS. He knows all about the joys of such a run of results, but is also aware of the pitfalls.

“South Shields have been winning games and are used to winning games,’’ mused the 39-year-old, who was born in Gateshead.

“They will have the confidence which comes from winning, but it works both ways.

“When does winning become a complacent thing? They are facing a team from a few leagues above, so you would think there won’t be any complacency. They will approach the game in the same way they approached the games with Darlington and York.

“I’ve had footage of the York games and watched it and we have had their last two games watched too. They have some high profile players and the club has moved and risen over the last few years.

“Being from the area, my dad is from Gateshead, very close to South Shields, and when I was living in Chester and managing TNS the sort of football conversation we had on the telephone involved South Shields – who has signed for them, what they have done.

“It’s great that the chairman shows a bit of ambition. People sometimes get criticised for showing ambition and spending money and wanting to go places and grow a club, I think it’s great for the area, for another football club to grow. Fair play to the chairman.

“The chairman wants to get up the league pyramid as quickly as he can, which is great.

“One thing for sure is we will be doing all we can to progress.’’

Of the upwardly mobile opposition he added: "They are in a false position in the English pyramid for the stature of players they have.

"The chairman has invested heavily and they have a lot of supporters behind them.

"They are probably two or three rungs down the ladder than they should be.

"They have clearly proved that by beating Darlington and York and they are flying in their league.

"I have a lot of respect for them, they have a lot of high-profile players, I know Matty Pattison quite well and they have Julio Arca, to name just two.’’

Following a woeful start to the season, Pools were winless in six from the off, Harrison has instigated a sea change at Victoria Park.

Gone is the negativity which surrounded last season and both supporters and players are United again.

Falling from the Football League, Harrison took over a fractured club. The wounds caused by the former manager who instigated relegation are healing now.

Pools’ 420 allocation for Mariners Park sold out in an instant, with some fans queuing up overnight outside Victoria Park.

Harrison has the fans back on side and he feels it’s been a big factor of late.

“Over the last few weeks we have had some long trips. Yes, we have been on a good run, but the support has been brilliant,’’ he said.

“We go to Woking with good support, then have over 3,000 at home to Barrow on the Tuesday night, go to Solihull with over 350 behind us. It’s a lot of miles, a lot of money spent.

“At the end of the Solihull game you could see the staff and players showing what it means to everyone.

“The noise from the terrace makes a huge difference to the players. It really does – maybe not so much for the management as we are in the zone.

“Players, it does make a difference, it’s not a fallacy, it spurs people one. We have scored last-minute winners in recent games, it all helps.

“I would like to think that we are all in this together. Results help, of course they do, but the support has been a big factor.’’

He added: “Me and my coaching staff work hard, we put the hours in. I know how hard the players work day in, day out and in games.

“As a supporter I would go and watch Newcastle United when I was seven, eight, nine years old and I knew what to expect. Things have changed a lot now and demands are a lot higher.

“The players have worked hard from day one – and I will have it out with anyone who says otherwise. Whoever wants to come and speak to me about that, I know for a fact that the players have given their all.

“It’s my job to make sure they do that and if they don’t they get a kick up the backside.

“It’s the minimum I require – from myself, support staff and players – that they work hard and as hard as they can.

“We are all in a privileged position to work in football and at a fantastic club like Hartlepool United.

“It’s certainly something I take very seriously and I’d like to think supporters appreciate that. Sometimes players are going to have a bad game, it happens. They will make mistakes, I will make mistakes, but don’t worry about them.

“I’m not scared of making decisions early if I think things aren’t working. There’s only one thing worse than making an early decision and that’s making no decision and letting things pass you by.

“I will jump in with my big mouth and big feet, but I’d rather so that than let it dwindle away to nothing.

“I hope supporters appreciate it and I’m sure they do because the numbers and the support in the last month or two – away trips especially with time and finance – have been much appreciated.

“But we have done nothing so far. We will still need to win another 20 games to get out of this league.’’