SHREWSBURY Town manager Kevin Ratcliffe is calling on his three wise men to steer the club to FA Cup glory.

Gay Meadow, on the banks of the River Severn, will be packed to its 8,000 capacity tomorrow for the visit of Premiership high-fliers Chelsea.

Expectation in and around Shrewsbury has grown since they beat another elite side Everton in the third round.

Now Ratcliffe, manager of the Division Three club, is looking for 35-year-old Ian Woan, former York City midfielder Mark Atkins (34) and Nigel Jemson (33) to build a platform for another Cup upset.

Jemson again showed his liking for the big occasion when they faced Everton by scoring a brace, including the winner.

He is best remembered for grabbing the winning goal for Nottingham Forest in the 1990 League Cup final when Oldham were beaten 1-0.

Woan was also on Forest's books and both players enjoyed Brian Clough's unique brand of management.

Atkins,who spent the early part of the 1999-2000 season at Bootham Crescent, was at Blackburn when they won the League title in 1995.

Ratcliffe said: "The likes of Jemson, Woan and Atkins have a bit of quality.

"The players can learn from them and the quality of training has got better.

"As a coach, you can coach them as much as you want to a certain standard but they need better players around them in order to improve.

"We have taken confidence from the Everton game knowing we can do it against a top team.

"The players must remember why they did so well against them. The work-rate was outstanding."

Woan is available again after serving a one-match suspension while promising midfielder Jamie Tolley comes into contention after recovering from a virus.

Ratcliffe, who has the luxury of a full-strength squad to pick from, expects a tougher game against Chelsea than the match against his former club Everton.

The former Wales international is impressed with the way Claudio Ranieri has gone about his business at Stamford Bridge.

"You look at the Chelsea side compared to Everton and, no disrespect to Everton, individually they have better players," he said.

"Chelsea have done things in a quieter manner this season than any other year. That's down to the manager.

"He's not flamboyant. He seems to be a very down-to-earth person who has done a very good job without being noticed, which is always the best way."

Ratcliffe is aware Chelsea have a good away record but believes some of their players are in for a culture shock.

"I'm sure they haven't been anywhere like this in their careers, " he said.

"It will be a different atmosphere for them. They will be playing in front of 8,000 supporters in a small environment and a large percentage of them will be our supporters."

Updated: 10:07 Saturday, January 25, 2003