Dale Stephens does not mind admitting it.

He thought the game was up for Albion in this season’s FA Cup.

That was with about five minutes of the 90 left at Millwall.

He wasn’t the only one from the Sussex coast who felt the end was nigh at The Den.

Now he is keen to seize this second chance by showing the discipline, organisation, ability and stamina – both physical and mental – to serve up a shock against Manchester City.

The midfielder from Bolton rates Steven Gerrard’s two long-range strikes to save the 2006 final for Liverpool against West Ham as his favourite FA Cup memory as a young fan.

“It was the Gerrard final. Well, they have renamed it the Gerrard final,” he said.

But he acknowledges how something less explosive from Solly March has taken Albion’s own adventure to the last four.

Albion trailed at West Brom late in the fourth round replay and were 2-0 down at The Den two rounds later. Of course, professional footballers always back themselves, always talk up their chances, always think they can win. Or maybe not.

Asked whether there was a moment at Millwall when he did not think Albion would get to Wembley, he replied with a laugh: “Eighty-five minutes! When they scored their second goal it was very late on.

“We know we have a lot of quality within our team and within our squad. We made changes. Solly came on, Jurgen (Locadia) came on and had a big impact on the game for us.

“Even when we scored our first goal, it was still a big ask to get an equaliser. However, we got a bit of fortune, a bit of luck and we got to extra-time “Once we got to extra-time, I thought we were definitely going to win.”

Even when Glenn Murray missed their first penalty?

“I didn’t think he was going to miss but we have got a lot of quality and a good goalkeeper as well. It came together that day.”

For things to come together tomorrow will require Albion to learn from similar tests in the past.

Such as at Chelsea in midweek, when a lot of worthy work off the ball was undermined by three lapses.

And from their first Premier League match – when City scored twice in the last 20 minutes to win at the Amex.

Or maybe it is not the lapses. It is the lack of possession and time spent in attack which puts an unbearable strain on defence.

Stephens said: “It’s a collective effort. I don’t think I’ll be the only defensive midfielder when we play against such quality.

“Whether we play a two or three in there, we will all have our responsibilities defensively, along with the wingers and the strikers too.

“It’s going to be a team effort if we are going to stop City playing the way they can play.”

The Argus:

They call it the Gerrard final

Stephens recognises Albion will have to be at their best mentally as well as physically.

He said: “You have always got more energy when you have got the ball. It’s easier to run when you’re in possession.”

Stephens missed the trip to the Etihad earlier this season due to injury. But he remembers the home game last season which was also his Premier League debut after 279 appearances in the three divisions of the Football League.

Albion were on terms and had gone close to scoring through Shane Duffy when a trio of Prem masters handed out a harsh lesson.

David Silva got the ball off Stephens, Kevin De Bruyne provided a precise pass and Sergio Aguero finished.

Stephens said: “It was a learning curve for me particularly. I was involved in the opening goal.

“We knew the quality we were up against that day and what we could do if we weren’t concentrating for all the game. We did well for 70 minutes but they had a lot of possession.”

Despite that tough moment, Stephens did not miss a league minute until suffering injury in March.

He has been a central part of the Hughton plan through 4-4-2 to 4-4-1-1 to 4-3-3 days.

Ironically perhaps, he first signed for the club when Oscar Garcia – the closest they have had in tactical approach to Pep Guardiola – was in charge.

But injury curtailed his contribution under the Catalan, wiped him out of the Sami Hyypia tenure altogether and left him still out of action when Hughton joined midway through the 2014-15 season.

He said: “When the manager took over I had just started training. I had been injured for a long time. It was ten months in total.

“My initial thoughts were just to train consistently. I think I had been training maybe two or three weeks and I came off the bench at Cardiff.

“I did reasonably well and he kept faith in me, gave me a lot of opportunities when a lot of managers wouldn’t have. I had spent such a long time on the sidelines.

“We have good a relationship since. I’ve taken the responsibility of captain several times.

“I think he sees me as a role model for younger players.”

For Stephens, the role model was that FA Cup hero in Liverpool red whose best moments came not at Wembley but in Cardiff.

“I idolised him as a young boy and the way he did it that day was special. It has always stuck in my mind. I’m a Bolton fan but a huge Gerrard fan. Obviously he’s an England international and a top-top player.

“I probably based my game on what he had at such a young age.”