FA Cup: Preston have to make QF clash vs Villa ‘a dogfight’, says captain Ben Whiteman

Preston, March 30 (IANS) Preston North End aim to become the first team in 45 years to lift the coveted FA Cup whilst not playing in England’s top flight. The last team to achieve the humongous feat was West Ham in 1980.

Preston are currently placed 14th in the EFL Championship having won only 10 of their 38 games whilst drawing on 17 occasions. Captain Ben Whiteman claimed the high-stakes clash against Aston Villa, on Sunday at the Deepdale Stadium.

“When we get the ball we have to show how good we are. We know how good Villa are and their strengths and weaknesses but it is an FA Cup quarter-final and we have to make it into a dogfight as well. This is a fantastic competition with lots of history and hopefully we can go one step further,” said Ben to BBC Sports.

This is Preston’s first FA Cup quarter-final match since 1965-66, eventually losing to Manchester United. They last reached the semi-final of the competition in 1963-64, ultimately losing the final to West Ham United that year.

The Championship side are unbeaten in their last 15 games across all competitions at Deepdale (W6 D9) and haven’t conceded more than one goal in any match during this run (nine conceded overall).

Preston’s director Peter Ridsdale also joked that his team is budgeted to get out in the first round of the tournament and have missed their target nicely this time around.

“Normally, it is the only budget I hit every year. This year we have missed it nicely! We have made about a million pounds to get to this stage. We will make at least that getting to the semi-final again. Funnily enough it’s not about the cash, it is about the football and the glory,” said Peter.

–IANS

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