Ex-Liverpool trialist targets FA Cup upset after 'unfair' Man City heartbreak
His grandparents were Aston Villa season-ticket holders and his mates support the Blues.
Now Birmingham-born Cian Harries, a product of Coventry City's academy, is plotting West Bromwich Albion's downfall via an FA Cup third-round giant-killing with Aldershot Town.
The boisterous 26-year-old defender said: "If West Brom aren't on their A-Game then hopefully that closes the gap. You just don't know in the FA Cup.
"There isn't too much disappointment about not getting a Manchester United, Manchester City or Liverpool because we could have also drawn another team from the other end of the spectrum.
"I know through my former manager Tony Mowbray that West Brom are a huge football club - he did great things there."
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And if The Shots are to somehow defy the odds at The Hawthorns, the experience of Harries will prove key in helping Tommy Widdrington's Non-League underdogs over the line.
He made his first-team breakthrough alongside James Maddison, has eight Eredivisie appearances to his name, spent time on trial at Liverpool in 2017 and also played in an FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City in 2019 with Swansea City.
The agonising nature of that defeat still haunts him to this day. Now, he's out to make amends in the world's oldest - and greatest - cup competition.
Harries added: "We got beat 3-2 and Sergio Aguero scored a late winner but it should never have stood, he was offside.
"We were 2-0 up and flying. VAR had just come in but in the FA Cup, it wasn't used at Championship grounds.
"It was never a penalty on Raheem Sterling either and funnily enough, City went on to win the trophy."
Man City broke Swansea hearts in the 2019 quarter-final (Getty Images)The former Wales U21 international makes no secret of the fact he has at times felt disillusioned by the game and the highs, lows and mental setbacks he has experienced along the way.
Harries struggled to adapt to life in Holland with his partner Grace while on loan at Fortuna Sittard at 21.
He describes starting for Swansea in a sell-out at Aston Villa, the club who released him at 14, as a "f****** dream."
A few years later he would win promotion to League One with Bristol Rovers on the final day of the season following a stunning 7-0 demolition of Scunthorpe United.
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Now he is targeting a Football League return - ideally with Aldershot - following a frustrating spell at Swindon, who were torn to shreds by The Shots in Round One.
Aldershot Town beat Stockport County 1-0 in their replay to reach Round Three (Ben Roberts)He added: "Graham Potter was brilliant, not just with me but with everyone. He was destined for the Premier League as he was moving quicker than the club at the time.
"Then no two days were ever the same under Joey Barton. Everything was fresh. That promotion showed me that it's not just about ability, it's about leadership.
"That's what I'm trying to implement here at Aldershot. We have goals in us and I think we're a team that suits one-off matches because we can have a shootout. I really hope we give a good account of ourselves."
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