Delaney: All the Hollywood goes out the window at showtime on Sunday

GIANT-KILLER? Newport County's Ryan Delaney (L) fights for the ball with Eastleigh's Scott Quigley. Pic: GLYN KIRK, AFP, Getty Images

While the paucity of Irish managers in England is lamented, Ryan Delaney’s experience offers him optimism.

He will captain a Newport County team, managed by Dubliner Graham Coughlan, in Sunday’s glamour FA Cup tie and was previously under the guidance of Corkman Brian Barry-Murphy.

Together at Rochdale United, they were pitted against Tottenham in the Cup six years ago.

Only for a late penalty by substitute Harry Kenny, they’d have avoided a replay at White Hart Lane — which descended into a 6-1 massacre.

“Our gaffer is very similar to Brian — and I’d say even like myself,” Delaney, the centre-back part of Cork City’s 2017 double-winning team, said while on loan.

“I think us Irish stick together. When I met Graham last summer about signing for Newport, my gut feeling was this was a manager I wanted to work under.

“He’s honest and hard-working, very much in the same vein as Brian.

“He’s gone off to Manchester City and fully deserves to be heading for the highest level. Brian is a great man.”

That great man carries the potential to occupy a place in discourse around future Ireland managerial hunts, based on his career trajectory from his development role at the treble-winners.

A scalp in the magnitude of Manchester United would help Coughlan join that conversation down the road, and much will depend on his skipper’s contribution.

It doesn’t just hinge on how he fares at Rodney Parade against Erik ten Tag’s chosen striker, likely Rasmus Højlund, but his pastoral influence on teammates.

Mid-table fourth division level against the might of the Premier League staple might be ordinarily considered a mismatch, but this is a Red Devils side in a state of flux and scrambling for redemption.

United were winless in five matches before seeing off third-tier Wigan Athletic in the third round, and the fact they seemed content with a draw against Tottenham at home last time out signified the refined expectations around Old Trafford.

“This is probably our best time to be playing United,” the lifelong Red Devils fans said about the prospect of a giant-killing scalp.

“We’ve got to back ourselves. A lot of our injured players have recently returned and, after beating Eastleigh in the Cup replay, we defeated Wrexham last week.

“This was the Cup tie I wanted, but we hardly thought about it after getting through the last round.

“Of course, there’s been a lot of hype this week around tickets and so forth — but we’ve kept things as normal as possible.

“Everyone has been relaxed, having a laugh and joke about the spotlight we’re under, but the momentum is with us too after a big win.

“All the sentiment goes out the window come Sunday when it’s showtime.”

Plenty of Delaney’s family and friends will be among the expanded capacity of 10,000 to witness his slice of Hollywood.

Bar his year back with City, he’s been based in England since 2016 — when recruited by Burton Albion from first division champions Wexford.

The no-nonsense centre-back had subsequent stints at Rochdale, Bolton Wanderers, and Morecambe, before opting for a reboot in Wales.

He’s brushed shoulders with some glitterati along the way, not just Kane and Fernando Lorente in opposition for Spurs, but has the coincidental distinction of sharing his Ireland U21 debut with one Declan Rice.

Delaney is pragmatic enough to cite promotion — feasibly through the playoffs — as the priority for the remainder of the season, but the club that featured compatriots John Aldridge and Roddy Collins in yesteryear are primed to rattle vulnerable United.

“As players, you want to test yourself against the best and I hope United play their strongest team.

“They don’t have the characters like Roy Keane and Cristiano Ronaldo I used to watch ... but you can see their improvement in recent weeks. Højlund is capable of being their main striker. I hope his career kicks on — just after Sunday.”