Derby County Assistant Head Coach Richie Barker says the magic of the Emirates FA Cup isn't lost on him going into Sunday's Third Round tie against Barnsley at Pride Park Stadium (12:30pm kick-off).
The Rams take on the Tykes on home turf in the only all-League One tie of the round and are looking to extend their incredible 15-game unbeaten run.
Speaking to RamsTV ahead of the cup clash, Barker spoke about the unbeaten Christmas period, David McGoldrick's form and striker Will Osula heading back to his parent Sheffield United.
On the Christmas period...
We talked before the Forest Green Rovers game in December about getting 10 points from four games, however it came, and we've come away with that and zero goals conceded. It probably went as well as it could do really. If you can put clean sheets together then you aren't losing games and for our first half a dozen games here, there weren't that many. If you are going to be successful then you have to put runs of clean sheets together and it breeds confidence.
On David McGoldrick's form...
The goals speak for themselves; he's in a great run of form but I would say that's massively secondary in terms of what he brings to the side. He sees passes that nobody else sees, you can clearly see he's played at a far higher level than League One. He's always one step ahead of everyone and as a group we're really lucky to have him.
On Will Osula's return to Sheffield United...
We're disappointed to lose Will but he was Sheffield United's player and we knew that. We've got a really good relationship with Paul Heckingbottom and Jack Lester at Sheffield United, so we've been in constant communication.
Hopefully he enjoyed his time with us and hopefully he will be fondly remembered but more importantly hopefully he's learnt something and he will go back a better player and Sheffield United will recognise that.
He's played a part in getting us where we are right now, in League One and the FA Cup, so he'll be a miss but we had an idea it was coming so we'll just have to put plans in place to replace him.
On the FA Cup...
Bizarrely I think the older you are, the more important the FA Cup is. I think the magic of it may be lost a little on the younger ones.
Unfortunately now the Champions League or staying in the Premier League has kind of leapfrogged the importance of the competition but it's still a trophy and it's the oldest cup competition in the world and one of the most famous too.
It should still send out those exciting vibes to fans and players and it's something a bit different. It gives you an opportunity to do something you may not normally get.
