Sir John Madejski hails Reading's renaissance

Madejski says the cup has brought passion back to Reading

Reading chairman Sir John Madejski says the club's FA Cup run has been a morale boost for the team and the wider Reading community.

The Royals will host Aston Villa on Sunday in their first FA Cup quarter-final since 1927.

Sir John told BBC Berkshire it will be an historic occasion for the club.

"There's a renaissance around the place. This is such a great thing for the club and the Reading area - it's like a cup final for us."

He added: "I urge people to be here, to soak up the atmosphere and get involved because this is something you can talk about to your grandchildren in years to come.

"We're a community club and this is a great time for the community to show their enthusiasm for Reading Football Club and spur them on to victory."

Reading have already beaten Liverpool, Burnley and West Brom in the cup run so far this season.

Sir John said it has been a great boost for the team, who had been struggling in the Championship.

"The team's gelling, the players are on top of their game and everything seems to be slotting into place nicely. As chairman I'm obviously delighted - it's been a long time coming.

"I thank the fans for their patience because it hasn't been too illustrious for a year now. On and off the pitch, things are looking good."

And the chairman added that the financial aspect of a cup run is of little importance to him.

"Everybody knows that the parachute payment falls at the end of this season, but I'd rather be talking about community and what it does for the community and what it means, rather than talking about finances.

"This is something very special and I don't want people to say 'he only wants us to come down and spend some money'.

"That's not the case. I want people to come down here because I want there to be a fabulous atmosphere and we'll only get that if the whole place is absolutely full up."

Reading versus Aston Villa kicks off at 1345 GMT on Sunday 7 March and is live on BBC Radio Berkshire.