Emi Martinez aimed for glory with Aston Villa and said: “I want an FA Cup run.”
The Argentine – voted world number 1 by his club and supporters – has set out his position in a typically candid manner. Martinez could be rested against West Ham as Villa have seven games in 22 days and have both professional and personal reasons for wanting the club to progress.
He said: “I want silverware for the club. I want a cup match and I was very frustrated when I was knocked out by Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup. I think the fans deserve to be at Wembley at the end of the season . is something the club has been missing for years. I want cups and I know the feeling that brings for myself and the fans.
Villa's season is yet to reach the levels achieved last year. But they are likely to finish in the top eight of the Champions League, just four points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
However, Villa have not won the FA Cup since 1957 and it has been 29 years since Andy Townsend won the League Cup. Martinez added: “For me, anything is possible in football. When I came here, the club was not in the situation we are in now.
“The season before I arrived we finished 17th, and then we gradually became 11th, seventh and fourth. The season so far has been good – not as I would like – but we knew we were playing and competing in the Champions League in the top four would be difficult.
“We had to sell players and the new players needed time to adapt, which they are doing now. We are doing well.”
Martinez says success in the competition will put him back in the spotlight. He is the winner of consecutive Lev Yashin awards – the first time a goalkeeper has won FIFA's top prize – and says he needs Villa to do well to stay in the hunt for a third.
He added: “I spoke to my agent, my father and my wife, and said you can't really enjoy awards. It's game after game after game. Once you reach that level, you have to perform week in, week out.
“Everyone expects you to perform and everyone waits for you to make a mistake, saying 'that's the best goalkeeper who makes mistakes'. We struggle to keep a clean sheet and that hurts me a lot because I demand a lot from myself .”
Meanwhile, boss Unai Emery has suggested supporters back his decision to allow Jaden Philogene to move to Ipswich Town in a deal worth £23million.
The Spaniard wanted to see the England Under-21 international back at Villa Park and approved a bid to buy him back from Hull City.
He said: “We try to get the best for the club, the best for the team and the player. We try to make the best decision and try to analyze every situation in depth.
“Jaden, we believe in him, it's the reason we signed him last summer. We went to a lot of trouble to get him here.
“But after the last six months he was not consistent in different circumstances and for the club other teams called us saying we were interested in him. It works for the club.”
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