Albion captain is always up for the cup

The FA Cup means a lot to West Brom captain Darren Fletcher – back in 2004 it was the first trophy he ever won.

The former Manchester United midfielder added four Premier League winner's medals, two League Cups and a Champions League winner's medal to his haul after that.

But he knows how much the world's oldest football competition means to both fans and players.

He said: "The FA Cup has a great history. You can get luck in the cup, it can give you belief. There is a great opportunity for us, starting with this game.

"It's not an easy challenge tonight but one we're striving for. The FA Cup means a lot to me. It was the very first trophy I won.

"I've had the disappointment of losing two finals - we battered Arsenal in 2005, but lost on penalties.

"Then we played in a dull final against Chelsea where we lost by the odd goal and didn't do ourselves justice.

"But it holds good memories because it was the first thing I won for United and that was a special day for me."

Fletcher has been at Albion for just over a year, but the club captain is well aware of that the Baggies are five-time winners of the FA Cup.

He said: "You can see from the fans who turned out to both of our home games that there is a real appetite to do well in the FA Cup.

"It shows that the fans want to do well in this competition. Our target is to get to Wembley. At that stage anything can happen.

"The history of the competition is evident at the club. We had a day last year for Jeff Astle, which brought up a lot of FA Cup memories for the supporters.

"Well let's go out there and create new memories for people that will be remembered for years to come."

Plenty of players in Albion's injury-ravaged side face late fitness calls tonight.

Craig Dawson, Jonas Olsson and Gareth McAuley are all doubts with knocks they picked up against Newcastle.

He said: "We've picked up injuries to important players but, if we want to achieve what we want to achieve this season, then we have to get on with it.

"This is a massive game for us. The players are desperate to stay in the cup. We know our form hasn't been great in the league but we want a big cup run.

"If we get through at Peterborough we're in the fifth round. That's the incentive for us. We're still in the hat and there is a tie awaiting us at Reading that we want to be in."