FORMER FitzWimarc School teacher Danny Cowley helped mastermind one of the greatest shocks in FA Cup history after his non-league Lincoln City beat Premier League Burnley to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Cowley, who also managed Concord Rangers for eight successful seasons, guided the Imps to a 1-0 victory at Turf Moor on Saturday.

Sean Raggett’s 89th minute goal ensured Lincoln were the first side outside the top four divisions of English football to reach the last eight of the cup since 1914.

And Cowley, who has already guided Lincoln to victories over Championship pair Ipswich Town and Brighton & Hove Albion, said winning was an ‘incredible feeling’.

“It was an incredible feeling really to win the game like we did,” he said.

“We thought it was going to be a one in a 100 chance and we wanted to break the game down into small parts, six 15-minute periods.

“We grew in confidence I thought and to score with a set-piece, which we work really hard on, was pretty apt.

“It just shows, if you’re willing to work hard, what you can achieve.

“Our supporters are Premier League. They deserve this moment. I’m so pleased for them.

“And our players I thought were outstanding - they played for each other, for their families, and are rightly feeling proud as punch, because they deserve all the back-slapping they are no doubt going to get.”

The former Head of PE at FitzWimarc has become a household name after Lincoln’s heroics in the cup, along with assistant manager and brother Nicky, who also worked at the school until last summer, Cowley has also led Lincoln to the top of the National League in his first season in full-time management, and he described the FA Cup run as ‘life-changing’.

“I think maybe Lincoln have brought some of the magic back to the FA Cup,” he said.

“It is a brilliant cup competition. Whoever says the FA Cup is dead hasn’t lived in Lincoln for the last six to eight weeks.

“It has galvanised our football club.

“This club has had some really tough times and this run has brought Lincoln back to the forefront of people’s minds in the city and brought it to people’s hearts as well.

“It has been massive for us and we’ve loved every minute.

“It has been life-changing for us, this period, there’s no doubt about that.”