• FA Cup What They Said

What They Said: Di Canio wants Swindon statue

Paulo di Canio was emotional after Swindon's victory © Getty Images

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Swindon Town manager Paolo di Canio called on the club to commemorate his players, after the League Two team came from behind to beat Premier League side Wigan Athletic 2-1 at the County Ground: "My lads today deserve something from the club - to do something and put their names in the stadium. Normally you do this when you win something important, but I don't want a big statue. Maybe just a small plaque with all their names because they did something special.

"[At half-time] I said to them 'Once we go forward, attack because otherwise it is difficult to get what you want today, let the dream come true.' And today they did show the dream can come true.

"There is no doubt we deserved to win," he continued. "Twelve shots on target versus five and six corner kicks versus four, these are only statistics and numbers but they give you an idea."

Despite a disappointing defeat, Latics boss Roberto Martinez was happy to pay tribute to Swindon's hunger and desire: "I thought we started well and we got a well-deserved lead but I thought Swindon reacted really well to the emotions of the crowd. They got a little bit of luck with the second goal which looked offside but it was a great opportunity for me to see the whole squad and all my players.

"Swindon have a real togetherness, have a real fighting spirit and they showed what it means to be in the FA Cup."

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew believes Hatem Ben Arfa's solo effort was the best goal he has ever seen live, as the Frenchman's strike helped Newcastle come from behind to beat Blackburn 2-1: "It's the greatest goal, in my opinion, I have ever seen with my eyes because just the technical part of it - to beat six players, to skip past people, left-foot, right-foot, cut-back, accelerate, everything that was involved in it, it was an unbelievable goal.

"I am absolutely chuffed for him."

Norwich manager Paul Lambert felt his side showed how far they have come after beating Burnley 4-1 at Carrow Road to book a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup for only the third time in 15 seasons. "To go through is the most important thing, but we dominated the game from start to finish,'' said Lambert. "Burnley have been doing well in the Championship, but hopefully we have moved on from last year, when we had two really tough games against them. All you can ask for in the next round is a home draw, but no matter who you will get, it is going to be extremely hard.''

Mexican Giovani dos Santos got a rare runout as Tottenham made light work of Cheltenham, but Harry Redknapp expects the former Barcelona man to leave in January: "I think Gio will move if we get the right player [to replace him]. He's looking to move to be honest. We had a big bid from Italy last summer but he wants to go back to Spain.

"He needs to play and to be fit and train hard, and when he does that, he's got a chance. He's got talent, he's got ability, he just needs to work harder in training and get fitter. He's a class player and he's unlucky not to play more, but it's hard. He's a fantastic footballer and a great boy."

Everton manager David Moyes confessed he does not want to draw Manchester City after seeing his side pushed all the way by Tamworth in a 2-0 win at Goodison Park: "For everybody at Everton the Cup run is important, although I could say that and tomorrow we could draw Manchester City away and then it's not what you want," quipped the Scot. "Once you get two or three rounds through then you can starting talking about Cup runs. Even before today's game you're always nervous, worried about a banana skin, and I've got to praise the players because their attitude was right.''

Giovani Dos Santos is heading for the Spurs exit door © PA Photos

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Tony Pulis was forced to give his post-match assessment of Stoke's 3-1 victory over Gillingham in the tunnel, one of the few places in the stadium from which he was not banned by Gillingham chairman Paul Scally. Pulis managed Gillingham between 1995 and 1999, guiding the club to the brink of the Championship before leaving in acrimonious circumstances, which ended in a court case, and he got a standing ovation upon his return. "If he (Scally) wants to say stuff, it's a free world. He can say what he wants. You've seen today who really counts and that's the supporters,'' Pulis said.

"You've seen what they think of the job I did here. That's all that matters to me. It was very special. I had four fantastic seasons here, took a club that was in administration to Wembley, my final game, in front of 90,000 people, we took 38,000 people there. It's lovely the supporters remember exactly what happened in that time. I've been back three or four times since and every time they have been fantastic. You think as time goes on they will forget but they never have and that [reception] was fantastic. The lads have just been giving me some stick, asking which side I was on!''

Bolton boss Owen Coyle dismissed suggestions that David Wheater was fortunate not to be sent off prior to his equaliser in the 2-2 draw at Macclesfield: "It was in a wide area and there was Joe Riley and two or three players near him," Coyle argued. 'All credit to Macclesfield, they are a decent side and they scored a truly magnificent goal. I've been on the other side many times as a giant-killer and you think 'that's a typical FA Cup moment'."

Neil Warnock believes QPR's late FA Cup reprieve in the 1-1 draw against MK Dons could be the lift they need after a string of poor results in the Premier League: "All credit to the boys, they kept going and I am delighted to be in the hat, especially as it means captain Joey [Barton] will be back for the Wigan game, which is more important really," Warnock said. "People talk about did we want a replay, well yeah we did. At 1-0 down with 10 men and going into the last few minutes it's a great result for us. It could be the turning point of the season."

Birmingham defender Curtis Davies claimed stalemate at St Andrews against Wolves was inevitable. "A replay is not what we wanted, but we have been playing games week in, week out; Tuesdays, Saturdays, Thursdays and we'll have to deal with it and hopefully we can get a result then. I think [Wolves] had the clearer-cut chances but I would probably say we had more in and around their box. It was a typical cup tie, especially being a derby - 12:30 kick-off... a 0-0 was inevitable."

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake believes a draw was the right result: "It was unlucky but it was probably a fair result in the end. We've always had a mean defence. It was a good game and 0-0 was a fair result. I should have done better with the second chance but as long as I'm getting chances I'm happy. The replay is there so we have to deal with it."

In the day's evening kick-off, Aston Villa beat Bristol Rovers 3-1 thanks to an inspired performance from Marc Albrighton. He told ESPN: "We knew we had to come here and be professional and get the job done. We didn't mess about and we did well.

"An early goal always helps and we're pleased to get that and built on that. Ciaran [Clark] and Gaby [Agbonlahor] both got great individual goals. I suppose it was difficult because it was a difficult pitch to play on but we passed the ball around nicely and I thought we dealt with it well."

Hatem Ben Arfa's goal was hailed by Alan Pardew © PA Photos

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Crawley Town boss Steve Evans fancies another crack at Manchester United, after beating Bristol City: "I still owe Fergie one after we nearly knocked them out last year. You can tell him that and he'll have a chuckle.

"We'd love to draw any Premier League team, though, and with the form we're in I think we'd give good account of ourselves whoever we come up against."

Fulham boss Martin Jol believes the FA Cup remains the best club competition in the world, as he returned to the tournament with a victory over Charlton. "I wasn't here for the last four or five years but I still think the FA Cup is the best competition in the world," he said. "I told the players that and maybe they think differently, but I don't think so.

"For a club like Fulham, maybe you can discuss about [the importance of] the Carling Cup but the FA Cup for me is not sacred, but it is one of the best competitions."

Roy Hodgson had a hat-trick from Simon Cox to thank as West Brom breezed into the next round with a 4-2 win against Cardiff, but changed his tune after being told Cox had expressed a desire to leave the club earlier in the week: "My thinking has never changed. I've never considered him going elsewhere.

"I don't know what he's said to the press, but as far as I'm concerned he is a West Bromwich Albion player, and I'm very happy about that. Before he makes those statements and gets you all so excited, it might be a good idea if he comes and speaks to me. It's the first I've heard of it."

Derby County beat Crystal Palace at Pride Park thanks to Theo Robinson's strike, although Nigel Clough still hasn't forgotten last year's third round exit against Crawley: "I think we have a couple of rounds to go before we get to that stage [forgetting that result] but we are in the draw for the fourth round. I see Crawley knocked another Championship side out today so that maybe puts it in perspective."

With a Carling Cup semi-final looming, Palace manager Dougie Freedman said illness forced him into naming a youthful side: "Hand on heart, I was forced into it [making so many changes]. I've got a sickness going through the club so even with the Carling Cup on Tuesday night, I had to make three or four changes."

And Swansea assistant manager Colin Pascoe stressed the importance of the Cup to the Welsh outfit after they triumphed 4-2 at Oakwell: "The FA Cup is a big competition,'' Pascoe said. "We always want to do well in any cups, and especially the FA Cup. It is prestigious and it is another game for momentum, away from home, in which we wanted to do well.''

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