Karacan has played for Turkey U21s

Reading midfielder Jem Karacan says last year's FA Cup run showed the team the importance of the competition.

The Royals are at Stevenage on Saturday, having last season reached the quarter-finals beating Liverpool, Burnley and West Brom on the way.

Karacan told BBC Berkshire: "You saw with the run we had, what a massive boost it gave to the whole place, to the whole town.

"It's a great competition, still one of the best in the world."

Despite facing lower league opposition, Karacan says they are expecting it to be a very difficult afternoon.

"Straight away we knew it would be a difficult tie after their great performance against Newcastle," he said. "It's up there as one of the hardest draws to get.

"I think the hardest game I've ever had to play in was away at Barrow [with Bournemouth]. We know what these stadia are like - we've all been there and done these things, but we're looking forward to it.

"It's not a distraction, it's a welcome break."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version