WHEN Stuart Beavon takes to the field on Sunday he will probably try to pick out his family in the crowd, but not all of them will be hoping he finishes on the winning side.

It is a dilemma Cyril Beavon has wrestled with since the finalists were confirmed earlier this month.

On the one hand, his grandson is on loan at Coventry City, for whom he scored in the semi-final victory against Wycombe Wanderers.

But they face Oxford United, where Cyril spent a decade from 1959, making 464 appearances.

“It’s the worst combination of teams for the final, obviously,” he laughed.

“But I’ve made my mind up, I’m supporting Oxford.

“It goes against the grain a little bit. I’d love to say Coventry, but my heart’s not in Coventry.

“I would be quite happy for Stuart to have a good game and possibly get a goal – as long as he doesn’t let himself down.

“But I’ve got to support Oxford really.”

The next obvious question is: what does Stuart, who was released by the U’s aged ten, make of the decision?

Cyril said: “He doesn’t know. He’s not mentioned it actually, so I will leave things as they are.”

It could make for an awkward conversation at some stage, but the Sky Blues front man will at least be able to say he has a Wembley appearance on his CV.

Having had a career at a time before the play-offs when opportunities to appear at the national stadium were rarer than they are now, his grandfather never got to play under the twin towers.

The 79-year-old said: “I would’ve loved to have played at Wembley.

“The nearest I got was in 1964 when we beat Blackburn Rovers and lost to Preston North End in the sixth round of the FA Cup.

“Oxford would’ve had Swansea in the semi-final and I think we would’ve beaten them.

“That’s the way things go in football, you have disappointments.

“That was the chance we had and there was a realisation afterwards that I’d never get another.”

It is something his son, Stuart senior, did manage to achieve while playing for Reading in 1988.

“My son played in another of what I call these Mickey Mouse competitions, the Simod Cup,” Cyril said.

“He scored a penalty and they won 4-0. Hopefully that’s not an omen for Coventry on Sunday.”