Laws confident of cup pedigree

22 January 2010 13:01
The Championship strugglers pulled off one of the shocks of the third round last week by securing a 2-1 win in a replay at Anfield thanks to Shane Long's winner in extra-time.[LNB]Reading's reward is a home draw against Burnley, and with the Clarets having lost 10 out of 11 away fixtures in the Barclays Premier League this season and currently only a point away from the relegation zone, another upset could be on the cards.[LNB]However, Burnley are no strangers to cup success themselves, having reached the FA Cup fifth round and the Carling Cup semi-finals last year when they were a Championship side.[LNB]The squad boasts an impressive pedigree and despite Reading's exploits in the previous round, Laws is not expecting to see the underdogs win through again at the Madejski Stadium.[LNB]"I am delighted for them (Reading) because it keeps their cup run going and I know they are struggling financially," said Laws, who was a spectator at Anfield last week.[LNB]"This will be a great relief for them and they will be looking at us and maybe looking at our away record and thinking there's another opportunity to progress in the FA Cup.[LNB]"But I think Burnley have already shown last season that they have an appetite for the cup competitions.[LNB]"It never affected their league performances, so lets hope we have the same again - that we have a good performance away, a good cup run and that that kicks us on for the league."[LNB]Laws only took over from Owen Coyle at Turf Moor last week, but with a sequence of crucial fixtures on the horizon - including a trip to Coyle's Bolton next Tuesday - the new Burnley manager has had to act quickly to put the wheels of his regime into motion.[LNB]The assembly of the club's new backroom staff has been completed over the last few days and with a full week of training now under his belt, Laws is pleased with the way things are progressing.[LNB]"It's about settling in as quickly as you can," Laws said.[LNB]"The players want organisation and direction and that's something we are trying to put in place immediately.[LNB]"Obviously with not having had a lot of staff around it has been more of a strain, but now we have got everything in place, it's about motoring forward and hitting the ground running, and the players over the last few days have been excellent.[LNB]"They have been attentive and understood that we have some work to do and the planning for the FA Cup and the league games is now well under way."[LNB]Laws has been boosted this week by the return to fitness of Jay Rodriguez, Chris McCann and Martin Paterson, all of whom have been sidelined with injuries since September.[LNB]The trio made their comebacks in a reserve game on Tuesday and should all be available for selection against Reading.[LNB]Steven Fletcher had to come off with a knock to his ankle in last week's defeat at Manchester United but should feature and Clarke Carlisle has returned to training after overcoming a side strain.[LNB]Club captain Steven Caldwell will miss out again though after suffering a setback in his recovery from a groin problem, while David Nugent is ineligible for FA Cup matches under the terms of his current loan deal from Portsmouth.[LNB]Andre Bikey is still with Cameroon at the African Nations Cup.[LNB][LNB][LNB]

Source: Team_Talk