Kyle Edwards is still buzzing after the 4-1 midweek win at high-flying Wycombe and eager to play in tomorrow’s FA Cup first round home tie against League Two strugglers Oldham Athletic.
The oldest knockout tournament in the world, won by Town in 1978 and to those supporters present an occasion they will never forget, may have lost some of its magic in recent years as an increasing number of managers see it as little more than an opportunity to rest a number of first-team regulars.
But even if Town boss Paul Cook makes several changes from Tuesday’s epic comeback victory Edwards genuinely hopes he is not one of the players to be left out and insists he would like nothing more than to play and help earn the Blues’ passage to round two.
Winger Edwards, 23, said: "The FA Cup excites me a lot. You see the upsets, you see lower league teams taking on teams from a higher level and turning them over. It’s a competition where anything can happen and I’m always excited to play in it.
"This is a game where we should be able to show our quality. Our league form has been good recently and if we can take that into the FA Cup it should limit Oldham’s hopes of causing an upset.
"I don’t know what the gaffer is planning with regard to team selection but whatever side he picks he will see it as good enough to win through.
"Our squad is strong and full of good players, which people have seen recently, so it doesn’t matter which team the gaffer puts out, it should have enough quality to do the job.
"The boys will just want to win and get through. It would be great to at least reach the third round, when the Premier League teams come in, and get one of them in the draw. We’re a very positive team, you know, and I believe we have a strong enough squad to play the extra games.
"We all want to advance and for some of us it means a chance to get some extra game time as well. I see the FA Cup as a big deal and I know the other lads are the same. It’s a knockout competition so we want to go as far as we can in it. We want to win every game, league or cup.”
"Would I rather have a league game this weekend? I don’t know about that. I think it’s alright to have a little break sometimes and we can reflect on how things are going in terms of the league.
"The cup games are different but the FA Cup should be a big thing for us as well. It will be interesting to play against Oldham and try to make it through to the next round. It’s our next game and that’s what we are looking forward to right now. The next one is always the most important one.”
Edwards, who has represented England at U16, U17 and U20 international levels and was signed on a three-year contract in August after being released by West Bromwich Albion, is a bubbly character who enjoys what he is doing and is rarely seen without a huge smile lighting up his face.
He grinned: "I’m a positive person and I try to stay happy, no matter what the situation is. I’m playing football for a living so you could say I’m living the dream and enjoying myself because it’s what I always wanted to do and a lot of other people besides.
"I try to keep smiling, stay happy and look to bring other people up with me as well. Laughter is good for you and that’s how I try to live.”
Asked how keen he was to face the Latics, who sit third from bottom in the fourth tier, he replied: "I’ve recently come back into the side and while I’m fit I am still gaining fitness as well if you see what I mean.
"I’m somebody who would play every game if I could — that’s what I want — and it doesn’t matter if it’s a league game or a cup-tie. I’m definitely hoping I will be playing on Saturday.”
Looking back to Tuesday’s success at Adams Park, he added: "I can’t lie, it really felt amazing and especially considering their home form this season — six straight wins before we turned up.
"For us to go there and do what we did to them, with a good performance and playing them off the park football-wise, felt really good.”
Town were under heavy pressure in the early stages from Gareth Ainsworth’s team, who went ahead and must have fancied their chances of claiming a seventh successive home league win.
"But Town rallied to claim all three points and send a warning to the other League One promotion contenders.
Edwards was quizzed about which of the Town players did most to bring about a change of fortune and he responded: "I think everyone in the group is pretty good at that sort of thing but I’d have to mention Sam [Morsy] as captain.
"We all knew in our own minds that it wasn’t good enough from us in the early stages and that we had to sort it out, pick it up and go to another level with our performance.
"That’s what we did and Sam was driving us on to a memorable victory that keeps us going in the right direction.”