Phil Parkinson has made no secret of the fact he is willing to put Bradford's League One promotion push on hold in order to focus on making more FA Cup history at Valley Parade on Saturday.
After stunning back-to-back victories over Chelsea and Sunderland, the Bantams will book their place in the last four for the first time in 104 years if they pull off another upset over Championship side Reading.
Sitting eighth in the current League One table, Parkinson's men hold real hope of consecutive promotions but having made seven changes for the midweek win over Crawley the Bradford boss has made his intentions clear.
Parkinson said: "It is difficult because when we reached the Capital One Cup final, all the way I was saying the league was more important - but when we got to the semi-final we were on the point of making history.
"I want to do both but on this stage, when you're so close to being in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, this has got to take priority at the moment."
The former Reading hero is still hailed by Royals fans who voted him the club's greatest ever central midfielder in an online poll.
But Parkinson will leave little room for sentiment as he chases arguably the greatest moment of a managerial career which has served up unlikely highs plus lows like a painful 24-game spell at Hull in 2006.
As FA Cup fever continues to swirl round the West Yorkshire city in the latest chapter of the club's extraordinary recent knockout history, Parkinson is adamant such experiences helped shape the sought-after manager he is today.
Parkinson added: "I think it does you good sometimes to have a period where it doesn't really go well for you and you've got to learn from that.
"Everything you do in football you have got to take a positive outlook. I learned very quickly that the managers who don't move on become bitter and start blaming everybody else, and the ones that don't can be successful."
Parkinson had a short spell scouting for Arsenal at the end of his playing career and looks to the likes of Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson and in particular Jose Mourinho for pointers which will help boost his own career.
Mourinho was magnanimous in his praise of the Bantams in the wake of their astonishing fightback from two goals down to win 4-2 at Stamford Bridge in an unforgettable fourth-round tie.
Parkinson added: "I like the fact he (Mourinho) will do whatever it takes to win.
"We are in an era of managers who sometimes have their own philosophy which gets in the way of what's the most important thing, to win each individual game.
"For me that's what management is about. It's not just saying 'we've got good players, go and play' - it's about what tweaks and adaptations are we going to make to give us the best chance of winning."
Among the first-team players set to be recalled for the Saturday lunchtime clash are Filipe Morais, who missed the last three games with a knee injury, and Gary Liddle, who will return from suspension.
Meanwhile former Manchester United junior Ben Williams will return in goal having been preferred for all the FA Cup games so far in favour of regular number one Jordan Pickford.
Source: PA
