Aston Villa begin their FA Youth Cup campaign against Reading at the Madejski Stadium on Friday night.
The Under-18s are looking to follow in the footsteps of the club’s previous cup winning squads of 1972, 1980 and 2002.
Ahead of the Third Round tie, assistant lead coach Liam Bramley says the Young Lions are relishing the chance to compete in such a prestigious tournament.
He said: “There’s a real excitement around the group at the minute and they’re challenging each other to try and progress in this competition.
“It would be nice if we had a group that could join that team from 2002 and go a long way in this competition.
“We’ll take it one game at a time, focus on Reading on Friday night and hopefully get the performance we need to be in the draw for the next round.”
The competition has played a role in the development of former Villans such as Steven Davis, Liam Ridgewell and Peter Whittingham, who formed part of the club’s last winning team in 2002.
And after rising to the top of the Under-18 Premier League after nine games, Bramley is keen to see how the players fare in knockout football.
“The competition certainly adds an intensity that’s important for young players. With knockout football comes added pressure, and we’ll be looking to see how our players respond to that,” he said.
“The stage that these players are at, the FA Youth Cup is an opportunity for them to experience that high-pressured environment that knockout football brings.
“They’ve got the opportunity to play in a stadium on Friday night and for some of them that might be their first exposure to that.”
While the FA Youth Cup will be a new experience for most of the squad, they’re well acquainted with opponents Reading after meeting them earlier in the season.
Goals in the final 11 minutes from Brad Young, Lamare Bogarde and Taylor Jay-Hart helped Villa to a 3-1 win at Bodymoor Heath, but Bramley feels that game will have little bearing on Friday night.
He said: “We’re well aware of Reading and the players have significant experience of playing against Reading youth sides.
“Ultimately, it will come down to which team performs best on the night. Hopefully we can get the right performance from our players.”
