Wembley heartbreak the spur for Villa

Martin O’Neill has seen one piece of silverware slip from his grasp but will now want his players to use their burning sense of injustice in the FA Cup.

Aston Villa are still scarred from last week’s League Cup final at Wembley when referee Phil Dowd’s decision to not send off Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic played a huge part in O’Neill missing out on his first trophy for the West Midlands side.

The former Celtic manager has masterminded another campaign of steady progression but will be acutely aware that he needs something tangible to show for it as he approaches four years in charge.

Villa could still finish in the Premier League’s top four but surely their most promising chance of success this term will rest with the FA Cup, with a trip to Championship club Reading this Sunday representing a golden opportunity to reach the semi-finals.

The month of March, however, has proved a nightmare for the Ulsterman as they have not won a single game in that month since he replaced David O’Leary in August 2006.

But James Milner, who impressed as a substitute in England’s friendly with Egypt on Wednesday, has urged Villa to banish the curse and rescue their season.

He said: “I’m not really superstitious, the only superstition I have is that when I talk about injuries I say ‘touch wood’.

“But I wasn’t really aware of this March thing. It?s down to us to put that right. I don’t know what’s gone on in previous years and I can only really comment on last year.

“I don’t know whether it?s psychological or physical or what. Maybe it was fatigue last year, who knows?

“If you finish the season disappointingly like we did, the important thing is to learn from it so it doesn?t happen again.

“We’ve played well recently. I don’t know how many it is unbeaten in the league, but we’re on a good run and it’s down to us to keep that going.

“First things first, we’ll see if we can get through in the FA Cup, which again will be tough because Reading have been playing so well.”

Reading are struggling in the Championship but have already knocked out Premier League sides Liverpool and Burnley this season and will fancy their chances of piling more misery on O’Neill.

Reading manager Brian McDermott, who was rewarded with the job on a permanent basis largely due to the club’s cup heroics, is ready to claim a third top flight scalp.

He said: “This cup run has put us back on the map, throughout Europe really.

“Now there are eight teams left in the country and we’re the only Championship one.

“But we want to go as far as we can. The cup has not been a distraction and we try and win every game.

“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.

“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.

“The last time Reading reached the quarter-finals was 1927, let’s see how far we can progress now.”