Watford hoping for good FA Cup run
Watford's Ikechi Anya is targeting a fruitful FA Cup run to complement the club's impressive Barclays Premier League form.
The Hornets welcome struggling Newcastle to Vicarage Road on Saturday for their third-round clash.
While Newcastle are stuck in the relegation zone, Watford stand ninth in the table having enjoyed a fine start to their top-flight return.
And now Anya wants the club to surpass their recent history in the FA Cup, with a fifth-round appearance in 2009 the best they have managed in the last eight seasons.
In 1984, Graham Taylor's Watford lost to Everton in the final at Wembley.
"Our main priority is to stay in the Premier League, but we haven't had a good cup run in a while," he told watfordfc.com
"Even though the atmosphere here is incredible, imagine if we had a cup run on top of that.
"I'd be delighted to progress in the FA Cup and go further on, I don't see any reason why it would be a hindrance. We have a big squad, and we have the players who can compete and get a good result on Saturday."
On the back of a hectic festive fixture schedule and with two league matches coming in the week after the FA Cup tie with Newcastle, Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores could be forgiven for seeing the game as a chance to rest some weary legs.
But the Spaniard, taking charge of a team in the competition for the first time, also has high hopes of making progress.
"First of all, we must try to put a good team onto the pitch to try and beat Newcastle," he said.
"We know that after a few days we have to play against Southampton, which is very important for our main target of the season, but now the most important thing is Newcastle.
"We want to take good feelings, we want to win, and of course we want to give the opportunity to some players who are training really, really well but are not playing, because other players are playing well in the same position.
"It's an opportunity to show everyone we want to be competitive, and finally the most important thing is the mentality of the collective."
The Hornets could hand a debut to summer signing Obbi Oulare if Flores opts to rest either captain Troy Deeney or top goalscorer Odion Ighalo.
Jose Holebas may also be drafted in but Nathan Ake remains suspended while Tommie Hoban (groin) and Joel Ekstrand (knee) are out.
Newcastle head coach Steve McLaren has received a major boost by the news that Papiss Cisse could return to training just days after being ruled out for three months.
The Magpies feared he had suffered a major blow last week when he revealed that the Senegal international could be facing surgery on a groin problem and a lengthy lay-off just when he needed it least with the club in the throes of a desperate fight against relegation from the Barclays Premier League.
However, after taking a third opinion on the injury, which struck during the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on December 19, Cisse is back running and could resume training with the rest of the squad imminently.
McClaren said: "Papiss has been out on the field running and as long as he keeps running, he could be back training next week.
"On medical advice, we are letting him rehabilitate and he is progressing very quickly in that rehab. There may come a point where he breaks down or he comes right the way through and he is fit. It is that kind of injury.
McClaren will be without Jack Colback for the trip to Watford as Newcastle seek to address a poor recent FA Cup record, which has seen the club exit at the third round stage in four of the last five seasons.
However Rolando Aarons and striker Emmanuel Riviere could return to the squad after lengthy injury lay-offs.
Source: PAR
