Source: Team_Talk
McDermott plans route to Wembley
The Royals have knocked out Liverpool, Burnley and West Brom on their way to Sunday's quarter-final at home to Aston Villa in a thrilling run which has coincided with a change of fortunes in the league.[LNB]McDermott's side are still at the wrong end of the Championship table but thrashed fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday 5-0 last weekend to move four points clear of the bottom three.[LNB]And McDermott - who has given the side confidence since replacing Brendan Rodgers in December - insists that fighting on two fronts in not a hindrance to their survival as he looks for yet another upset.[LNB]He said: "This cup run has put us back on the map, throughout Europe really.[LNB]"Now there are eight teams left in the country and we're the only Championship one.[LNB]"But we want to go as far as we can. The cup has not been a distraction and we try and win every game.[LNB]"The way the players have performed and conducted themselves makes me massively proud and hopefully we will have another performance I can be proud of this Sunday.[LNB]"The club has made a few quid out of the cup which is great but we don't look at it like that, we see it as an opportunity and a wonderful time.[LNB]"The last time Reading reached the quarter-finals was 1927, let's see how far we can progress now."[LNB]Martin O'Neill's Villa side will start as favourites to end the Royals' run at the Madejski Stadium but McDermott has not bothered his players with detailed plans on how to stop the Champions League contenders.[LNB]James Milner, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young will be the chief threats on Sunday but McDermott believes if his side play to their strengths then they can win through to the semi-finals.[LNB]He said: "Some people look at the opposition and spend hours watching videos.[LNB]"But I know the opposition so well and I know the Championship off by heart so I can talk our players through it, and show them in training sessions on the pitch.[LNB]"Since I took over this job I have not shown the players one single video of the opposition, I just concentrate on us.[LNB]"I also know Villa because they have established Premier League players. The key is we do our work and concentrate on ourselves. We will look for any weaknesses Villa may have and try and get into the next round.[LNB]"Martin wants to progress and get to Wembley for another cup final as much as I do.[LNB]"They've got good players in wide areas and up the pitch. But it doesn't worry me. We will try and play to our strengths and we will set up a plan to try and win."[LNB][LNB] Aston Villa 5/6, Draw 12/5, Reading 10/3
