Lincoln duo Danny and Nicky Cowley tell Sir Clive Woodward: 'We pinched your big ideas'

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Lincoln's brilliant management duo, Danny and Nicky Cowley, appeared on Garry Richardson's Sportsweek programme on BBC Radio Five Live on Sunday.

They were joined by World Cup winning coach and Sportsmail columnist Sir Clive Woodward — one of their inspirations.

This is an abridged version of that interview...

Lincoln coaches Nicky and Danny Cowley wait to find out Lincoln's quarter-final opponents

Garry Richardson: When you woke up on Sunday morning, did you think it was a dream?

Danny Cowley: It's felt like that for a little while now, it's been about eight weeks of a dream. We beat Oldham in the second round, a League One team, then we beat Ipswich over two games and then Brighton to get the opportunity at Burnley, so it's been a crazy period.

Garry Richardson: What's the secret? It's going tremendously well at Lincoln. How do you do it?

Danny Cowley: Hard work. Relentless hard work day in, day out. We try to give the very best version of ourselves from the moment we wake up until the moment we go to bed. 

Lincoln managers Danny and Nicky Cowley issue instructions from the sidelines

We have high standards for ourselves, high standards for the people around us and we're driven. We expect to be successful and it's around a work ethic and we love football. 

We've got into full-time football the hard way. When you come through non-League it's not always that romantic — we have the opportunity to do something we love, day in day out, we really cherish this opportunity and really value it.

(Lincoln's rivals at the top of the National League — Dagenham and Redbridge and Forest Green — both lost on Saturday.)

Danny Cowley: The league is a life-changer for us, we'd love to be Football League managers come May. 

Lincoln were relegated five years ago and it's a fantastic football club which hasn't finished above 13th since it was relegated. 

It's kind of drifted and lost its way a little bit, like it was in mourning. We've come in, tried to work hard and have an enthusiasm and a focus. 

We've got some great people, some fantastic people around the club and we've inherited some good players which we've added to. They've been a credit to us and to the club.

The Cowley brothers both made an appearance on Match of the Day on Saturday night

Sir Clive Woodward: Huge congratulations to you both. It must be an amazing position to be in.

Danny Cowley: Thanks so much. It's a huge honour to speak to you, we have so much respect for you and read all your books and followed your England career. 

As PE teachers we love our rugby and you did such a great job for English rugby, inspiring all those young children. 

We were PE teachers in 2003 and we went from having to drag kids in to play rugby to all of a sudden having 50 or 60 on the school field desperate to play the game. 

We took a lot of your ideas - and we still use a lot of those today; the business model you used to run that England rugby team... we love stealing ideas.

The Cowley brothers list World Cup winning coach Sir Clive Woodward as their inspiration

Nicky Cowley: Another idea we stole from you, Clive, is coaching our players individually and putting them in moments they would be in during game situations…

Sir Clive Woodward: I don't think it's any coincidence you guys are PE teachers. I'm a PE teacher, I'm very proud of the fact my background is in education. 

I was lucky because when I played for England it was an amateur game so I qualified, and I think a lot of sports coaches could learn from this. 

You have the knowledge in your sport but teaching it is a different thing. Teaching is coaching so to get qualified as a PE teacher gives you a great basis for coaching at the very top level. 

It amazes me that a lot of top players don't do this loop and for any coaches listening, you have to be a great teacher to be a great coach.

Lincoln became the first non-League side into the FA Cup quarter-finals in over 100 years

Sean Raggett celebrates after his header crept over the line against Burnley on Saturday

WHAT'S DADDY DONE WITH HIS BEARD? 

Lincoln boss Danny Cowley kisses his daughter Isabella after his team's stunning win at Turf Moor. She may have needed a double take the following morning, when Dad appeared clean-shaven after his appearance on Match of the Day. He said he didn't even shave for his wedding!

Danny Cowley kisses his daughter after Lincoln's historic win over Burnley

Danny Cowley had a beard at Turf Moor, but shaved before his trip to Match of the Day

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Danny Cowley: Teaching has really broadened our skillset and we've used a lot of our teaching skills. 

Being a PE teacher means you have to teach across a wide range of sports and we try to steal ideas from them. 

We use game calls from rugby for our restarts and set pieces, we use moves from basketball to get the ball in play…

Garry Richardson: Clive, how far do you think they can go?

Sir Clive Woodward: The secret, if there is one, is concentrate on your next game because it can catch up with you very quickly. 

Lose on Tuesday (at North Ferriby) and the whole shine will be taken off. You have to keep your feet on the ground. 

If you do that you can go anywhere in the game. I'm very keen on English managers doing well in football, but you have to have the ambition and be 'next game, next game' and not get ahead of yourself. 

I've never planned my career, it's just happened, but what I've been good at is looking at the next game.

Manager Danny Cowley celebrates on the Turf Moor pitch at full-time after the historic win

Lincoln's players celebrate Raggett's late winner in the FA Cup against Burnley

Garry Richardson: How will you two handle things now? You know that in the coming weeks you will be linked with this club and that club. What will you do?

Nicky Cowley: I just think we will be ourselves which is down to earth, humble and honest, hard-working lads, really. 

Any message we send in the media, our first thoughts will be our players and what they're reading. 

All of our players, if we look them in the eye, would want us to be focused on the job ahead and at the moment I'm not looking any further than Tuesday. I'm sitting here with Danny now thinking about the players we are going to select.