Walsall travel to Reading this afternoon...
Sam Mantom says Walsall will enter today’s FA Cup fourth-round tie with Reading full of confidence and hopeful of causing another upset.The Saddlers are in round four for the first time since 2006 after overcoming Brentford, Chesterfield and Fleetwood in the earlier rounds.
It is 13 years since Walsall reached the fifth round and Mantom wants to end that long wait – and possibly go even further.
“We’re only two games away from the quarter finals, which is a big thing for a League One team,” said the 23-year-old midfielder.
“As players, we want to be involved in the best cup competition in the country and we want to go as far as we can.
“We’re full of confidence and we’ll give it a good go.
“It’s a game we’re looking forward to and hopefully we can give a good account of ourselves and reach the next round.”
Walsall have already beaten three second-tier sides in the cup competitions this season.
Nottingham Forest and Brighton were accounted for in the League Cup, while Brentford were defeated in the FA Cup third round.
And Mantom, who scored the winning goal against the Bees, says we will draw confidence from those results heading into this afternoon’s match.
“It’s nice to know that we’ve been there and done it,” he said.
“We’ve beaten big teams from the Championship already so we know how to deal with these kind of teams, the physicality and the step up.
“If we play the right way, then hopefully we can beat another Championship team.”
More than 1,400 Walsall supporters will be making the trip to the Madejski Stadium this afternoon – and Mantom believes they can play their part.
“If the fans can be anything like they were at Brentford, then it’s going to be incredible,” he added.
“We can’t thank them enough for that support.
“The fans are always there through thick and thin and hopefully they can help us get another good result today.”