The Dutch midfielder says the FA Cup offers the perfect opportunity to return to winning ways and in turn provide a platform for the second leg against Kyiv.
“It’s not going to be hard,” he said. “We have to keep our heads high, try to keep performing. The Reading game is a chance to lift our confidence for the second leg and the other games ahead.”
De Jong says the squad are well aware of the magnitude of reaching the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 30 years and that the Blues won’t be taking Reading lightly.
“Of course it’s a big game,” he said. “Not just for the players, but the whole club because it’s been such a long time since we progressed past this stage.
It’s been too long for the fans so we have to make sure we are focused
...Nigel de Jong
“We are so close to Wembley. There’s no doubt that it’s a really good opportunity for us to reach the last four and the disappointment we are feeling from the Kyiv defeat could be forgotten and we can give ourselves a huge boost.
“We know we have got a lot of individual quality in our team. What we need to do is combine them as one in the team. But it takes time. Rome was not built in a day. We just have to try hard and it will come.
“Our fans obviously really want to win a trophy. And so do we. We know all about the history of this club so we know how long it’s been since we won anything. We are often reminded about it. Everyone knows what’s at stake.
“We won’t take Reading lightly. We’ve seen that anything can happen in cup competitions so we have to be at our best. We hope the fact we have got home advantage will be significant.”
