Professionals Not Pub Players

Curtis Davies has called on Villa to end our habit of being giant killed in the Cup and to secure a comfortable win against Gillingham.

Davies said when speaking on the official site that he and the team are determined to put things right after losses to Leicester and QPR in recent seasons and he has said that the FA Cup is on our priority list this year.

'Losing in the Carling Cup was a real slip-up and we don't want that to happen again.

'That was a real frustration.

'We want to be one of the Barclays Premier League clubs that get through - we don't want to be a team on the end of a giant-killing. We need to be on top of our game at the weekend.

'For Gillingham, it will be a massive occasion - that's what the FA Cup is all about.

'But it's a big game for us too because the competition still has its magic now. Players still want to lift that trophy at Wembley. We want to go as far as possible in the competition.

'People talk about priorities - but we want to do as well as possible in every competition, obviously including the FA Cup.'

Many fans have wondered if given our UEFA Cup exploits Villa would throw the FA Cup, and whilst it's still likely I think that we will see a very reduced strength side I would expect the core of the team to remain on the pitch, or at the very least on the bench so we have options.

It has been a busy day for Davies who has also been quoted talking about Zat Knight.

He believes given his recent performances that Zat will cause O'Neill a slight headache when Cuellar and Laursen are again fit.

'I have been impressed with Zat's performances against Hull and Arsenal - but I'm certainly not surprised. He's a top-quality player.

'The media this season have suggested that it is a three-horse race between myself, Martin and Carlos for those two spots in central defence. They have treated Zat like he's a non-entity.

'But he's chomping at the bit to do well for this club and now he's in, he wants to keep his place.

'He's done well and he'll be looking to impress the gaffer even more in the coming weeks. He won't want to give up his place so we'll have to be on our toes.'

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