Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins expressed his determination to end the club’s 29-year wait for silverware as they prepare for a crucial FA Cup semi-final clash against Crystal Palace at Wembley. Watkins, who joined Villa nearly five years ago, emphasized that winning a trophy has been a primary goal since his arrival.
Villa’s recent 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, courtesy of a last-minute goal by Matheus Nunes, dealt a blow to their Champions League aspirations. However, Watkins urged his teammates to shift focus to the upcoming FA Cup match, which he described as a defining moment in the club’s recent history.
Ollie Watkins said, “We knew it was going to be tough here, fighting for the Champions League and City pushed us to the limit, really. No-one likes to concede goals late on, no matter what team it is at the end of the day, so it is disappointing to take. But we’ve been really good these last five, six games, especially our home form as well has been amazing. We’ve beat some really big teams there and it’s a bit of a fortress. Sometimes you have a little bit of a blip and I think we got beaten by the better side. Teams in and around each other have to play each other as well, so everyone looks at the results and is hoping for them to go their way and we’ll be keeping a close eye on that. We’ve just got to focus on ourselves as well and make sure we just win the games ahead of us. It’s a shame that we conceded at the end but, look, we have to move on to the weekend now, focus on the FA Cup, a big game at Wembley. We all want to win a trophy so all eyes are on that.”
Watkins continued, “We’ve always gone out quite early doors and it’s disappointing. I’ve been saying to the boys one thing I set my eyes on when I joined the club was winning a trophy. It’s been so long since the club has done that and that’s the main aim, so Saturday is massive, and we will be doing all we can to get to the final. Obviously, it’s a quick turnaround and we have to get over tonight now. We’ve got all our faith in the manager that he’ll get the tactics right. Obviously, Palace have been a bit of a bogey team for us, but on our day we’re capable of beating anyone, and everyone’s looking forward to that.”
Watkins added, “I was just saying, from my point of view, every player wants to play and that’s it, really. I think there’ll probably be a worry if I said, ‘I’m happy to just sit on the bench and don’t want to play’. I think I’d be getting a bit of backlash, so I’ll just say it as it is. We never know who’s going to play at the end of the day. Sometimes the manager will tell us 30 minutes before we leave the hotel to head towards the stadium. He tells us the team then, so, yeah, everyone just has to be prepared, really, and you never know what’s going to happen.”
As Villa prepare for the semi-final, Watkins’ enthusiasm and focus on the FA Cup highlight the club’s ambition to secure a long-awaited trophy and cap off Unai Emery’s second full season in charge with success.
**Tags:** Aston Villa-Club, Ollie Watkins, FA-Cup, 2024-2025-Season, Crystal Palace
