Stiliyan Petrov has urged his Aston Villa team-mates to forget
about the Carling Cup until after their FA Cup replay against
Crystal Palace.
Villa face Manchester United in the Carling Cup final at
Wembley on February 28 but just four days before that is the FA Cup
fifth-round replay at Villa Park.
Martin O'Neill has admitted playing Palace so close to the
final is not ideal in a congested fixture list, but Petrov believes
the players should be professional enough to cope with both games.
"We have to be ready to play the replay,"he told the Daily
Star. "Even with the final on the Sunday, we have to keep going. We
believe in each other and we know we will have difficult games."
Petrov is keen to lead Villa to some silverware this season
as they look for their first trophy since 1996.
"This club has been crying out for silverware. The first
thing is to get some and then break into the top four," added
Petrov.
"People will look at it and say, 'yes they can make it'.
Well, we'll see if we can."
