IN the school holidays during the early 1980s, Phil Parkinson was one of a clutch of young footballers from the North-East who would travel by train to Southampton, clinging on to the dream of becoming a professional. Some, like Alan Shearer, would board at Newcastle, others at Durham.

Then there was the Teesside contingent that would walk on at Darlington station, tightly holding on to their rail ticket to the south coast. Middlesbrough fan Parkinson was one of those, desperately looking to secure the contract that would take him on the first step up the pro ladder.

The teenager was one of the schoolboys deemed talented by the Jack Hixon-Jack Robson scouting system that had been introduced in the North-East by Southampton's then boss Lawrie McMenemy, the former Sunderland manager.

It was Robson, as opposed to Hixon, who famously unearthed the talents of Shearer and Michael Bridges, who lined up Parkinson to regularly visit Southampton's Centre of Excellence in Gateshead, a set-up that was establishing a good name for itself and an opportunity Parkinson did not feel he could overlook.

Had he taken opportunities to sign YTS forms - now scholarship terms - with boyhood heroes Middlesbrough or Sunderland, then the commuting to The Dell, Southampton's old ground, in the summer would never have been necessary.

But Parkinson, refusing to allow his heart to rule his head, had decided the Saints were the club for him, after McMenemy had guided them to runners-up spot in the old Division One in the 1983-84 season - just a couple of months before he penned his first apprenticeship deal.

The travelling, although he was a few years older than many of the others on the train, was just accepted as part of the job. "I remember Neil Maddison, Alan Shearer and Steven Davis (ex-Burnley) being among those who got on the train," said the 38-year-old, who now has three children, George, Abigail and Jack, to his wife Suzanne, whom he met during those early days in Southampton.

"There were other lads, like a good friend of mine Paul Johnson from Chester-le-Street, and there were always good laughs on the train. At the time it seemed a long way from home but it was what I wanted to do.

"Southampton had such a great name at the time and with Boro's financial position at the time hardly being perfect (they went into liquidation three years later) it was never really an option for me. Southampton was.

"McMenemy knew what he was doing.

"He knew the North-East was a football hot-bed and he opened the centre in Gateshead, which is where we all went.

"They had one of the best youth policies in Britain and that was a great attraction."

Born in the Lancashire town of Chorley, Parkinson moved to Stockton-on-Tees when he was eight after a few years in the south, where his father, Jim, worked for a leading coach company.

It was living in Stockton - his mother, Marjorie, and Jim still live in Hartburn, and his sister, Debra, lives with her family in Yarm - where he developed a huge passion for the game. He was a regularly scouted player while representing Our Lady and St Bede's school team and playing for St Patrick's in the Sunday League.

Initially with his father and later standing in the Holgate End with his friends, Parkinson has fond memories of going to Ayresome Park to watch Boro matches, some of the finest being in the FA Cup, which has dealt him a dream hand this weekend.

Having steered Colchester United to the dizzy heights of second in League One, a point behind leaders Southend United with a game in hand, Parkinson's main target this season is to clinch promotion to the Championship.

But tomorrow, for one afternoon only, the small Essex club, not even in the Football League 14 years ago after relegation, have an opportunity to pit their wits against Chelsea, Premiership champions and current runaway leaders.

Over the course of his three-year tenure at Layer Road Parkinson has quickly established himself as one of the brightest young managers in the Football League.

The U's have already comfortably beaten Derby County in the last round and last season his team was paired with Blackburn, bossed by Mark Hughes, in the fourth round of the competition and lost 3-0.

Tomorrow will be the first time he has been able to test his tactical brain against the best in Jose Mourinho.

But things could have worked out so differently had Colchester chairman Peter Heard not acted on a tip-off after Steve Whitton parted company with United just weeks before Parkinson's installation, although management was always high on his list of things to try.

"Towards the end of my playing days at Reading I did the coaching badges because I could see myself getting into that side of it," said Parkinson, who went on to play for Bury and the Royals after failing to make an appearance for the Saints.

"Towards the end of the 2003 season that Alan Pardew left Reading to take over at West Ham he had offered me the position of reserve team coach for the next campaign.

"I had been at the club for a long time and thought that was a great chance for me. It would have been the perfect step for me to take. But I never actually took that job because I got a call from Mr Heard and I went up to have a chat. The next thing I took over. I was very fortunate to get such a position when I had no experience."

Colchester's goalkeeper is the experienced Sedgefield-born Aidan Davison, who has played for 14 clubs since starting out as a raw teenager at Billingham Synthonia in the Northern League.

"Myself and Aidan go back a long way," said Parkinson,who sits second behind Preston's Billy Davies in the Tissot League that evaluates managers' performances from all 92 Premiership and Football League clubs.

"He's from Bishop Auckland and we didn't even know that we used to play against each other as kids until we played at Bury together.

"Aidan was there and, after two North-East lads had a bit of craic, it turned out we actually used to play against each other when I was at St Patrick's.

"Incredible really and he has been doing fantastically for us this season."

Davison may have worked wonders between the posts in League One but coming up against the expensively assembled Chelsea forward line, in which the £24m Didier Drogba is battling with the £16.8m Hernan Crespo for a starting place, is a whole new world.

"If Huddersfield from our league can go there, score and narrowly lose 2-1 in the third round then we are going there looking to at least do that," said Parkinson.

"Every player we have we signed on a free transfer, except for Neil Danns, who cost £15,000. We base our transfer policy on trying to get free transfers, we can't imagine what it's like to have Chelsea's billions.

"We have been receiving an incredible amount of press attention for this game. We are not really doing too much differently but the number of interview requests we have been getting is far more than what we would normally get.

"We could make three-quarters of a million pounds and our wage bill stands around that mark. That's how much this game means to a club like ours.

"It's fantastic. We have had good cup runs in the past but without getting a really big draw. This time we have got one and it's great for the club's financial well-being.

"This is not only a fantastic opportunity for myself, it's a fantastic opportunity for the players to test themselves against the best team in England and one of the best two or three teams in Europe."

Normally the Colchester squad travels down for matches in the capital on the day of the game. This weekend is being treated a little differently, with a hotel stay tonight to try to steer clear of unwanted attention and distraction.

If the unthinkable does happen and Colchester become only the third English team to beat the men from the King's Road inside normal time this season then Parkinson's stock would rise again.

And who knows where the adopted Teessider could find his next port of call.

A top Championship club would certainly be within reach.