FA Cup Stars / Gavin Mahon / 01 January 2009 /

The QPR midfielder talks about FA Cup memories, Paulo Sousa's glowing tribute to the world's oldest cup competition and being desperate to overcome Burnley in the third round.

My first thoughts, when this FA Cup 3rd Round weekend comes around, are always memories of the best times I've had in this competition.

For a player like myself, who's spent the vast majority of my career outside the Premiership, to have appeared in two FA Cup semi-finals - as well as a two-legged Carling Cup semi-final - is something to treasure and there's images in my mind that'll always remain with me.

Both those FA Cup semi-finals came with Watford and, ironically, the team we (as in QPR), are playing at home to this weekend, Burnley, are the side Watford beat in the quarter-finals back in 2003.

Burnley are a very stable Championship club in my eyes. They've been very consistent performers generally, and they're having a great season under Owen Coyle. With his first full pre-season behind him, he'll have been able to get his own ideas across and his own players in.

A million pounds for a player was a lot of money to spend but Martin Paterson, who came from Scunthorpe, has really done the business for his manager and is already into double-figures for the season.

They've just had a couple of little blips with their last two results but their form has been really solid. I've talked about being consistent before and Burnley seem to have got that into their performances this year. If you'd offered Owen Coyle a top-six spot at the turn of the year, I'm sure he'd have taken it, no questions asked.

I think Robbie Blake would be the only person left from the team that came down to Vicarage Road under Stan Ternent that's still with the club now - and even he has been away and come back. Football changes quickly and five years ago seems a hell of a long time now.

Watford beat Burnley 2-0 that day then we went on to Villa Park but lost 2-1 to Southampton, still in the Premiership at that time. I played at right-back under Ray Lewington in that game, not my best position by a long stretch. But just to be selected - when there were other lads expecting to start that didn't - was a massive bonus in my career. We didn't really take the initiative on the day having missed the big guns in the draw.

In 2007, it was Man United again at Villa Park, an entirely different story. We lost that one 4-1 but there was no disgrace. They took no chances, fielded all the big guns, and we were coming to the end of a season getting beaten most weeks in the Premier League. Still a special day, though, no doubt about it. All the colour from the fans on the way to the ground and the Holte End a sea of Watford yellow when I led the team out as captain...good memories.

Our manager, Paulo Sousa, has been talking this week about how he used to watch the FA Cup as a boy back in Portugal. It's not until you hear someone like that, from another country, talking about it in such a way as he did, that you realise it really is the most famous cup competition in the world. Paulo knows the respect in which the FA Cup is held by English fans and his quotes are a refreshing change from some I've heard in recent seasons, almost knocking its importance.

He's said he's all out to win the game, as has Owen Coyle for Burnley, so it'll make for a much better game for the fans. I don't think there's a club at our level that shouldn't be going all out to get through. Burnley have already showed this season that a good cup run can boost your league form, never mind how many more matches it generates. Winning games breeds confidence - and that's the biggest ingredient for success in football.

Having said that about playing all the time, as always the games have come thick and fast recently. It's definitely a big plus for players of all clubs that we haven't had an extra game scheduled in between last Sunday the 28th and Saturday the 3rd. I was quite surprised when I looked at the Christmas fixtures. Normally, there'd have been another game in there on New Year's Day.
I think it'll work in all fans' favour ultimately - they'll see better quality matches with players just a bit less tired than they normally are after so many games with so little time to rest. The players have been talking this week about this match being a great break from the league but one we're desperate to win because of the positive effect a run can have on our promotion push. So expect to see us going for it at the weekend.

On the personal front, I scored a header against Chelsea for Watford live on Sky Sports in the 3rd round in 2004. Although it's Burnley not Chelsea this time, if I can do my bit with something like that, it'll be another good cup moment for me to add to the memory banks at the start of what might be a special run for QPR. Who knows, that's the beauty of the FA Cup.

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