It's anybody's to win, says Beardsley

The Magpies sealed their place in the last eight after a dramatic extra-time win over West Ham United a week past Saturday, Sammy Ameobi chipping in with a brace.

Opponents Reading, meanwhile, cruised to a 4-1 win over Middlesbrough despite falling behind early on.

Elsewhere, though, the Royals have struggled this season. They currently prop up the Premier League 2’s top tier, having lost 11 times in 19 outings.

Nevertheless, Beardsley is anticipating a closely-fought encounter on Monday, insisting that Martin Kuhl’s side will be another setting their sights on going all the way.

“We’re at the stage now where it is anybody’s to win, without a doubt, and the other seven teams will be thinking the same,” Beardsley told nufc.co.uk. “If you look at Colchester and Portsmouth, they’ve obviously taken it seriously, and one of those is going to be in the last four, so fair play to them. Swansea have taken everything seriously this season, and Norwich are into the semi-final of another competition (the Premier League International Cup). So, most of the teams left have been having a go, and when you get to the last eight of any competition, you want to do as well as you can.

“Looking at the league table, Reading are struggling, but in terms of what they believe, are they struggling? Ultimately it’s about the first team at every club, and obviously Jaap Stam has done a brilliant job there. Do the kids have the same philosophy, as in they play great football? I haven’t seen a lot of them, being honest, but I imagine they’ll be a carbon copy of the first team, and because of that, they’ll be good to watch. Hopefully, they won’t be too good.”

A young United side took on National League outfit Gateshead at Little Benton on Tuesday, going down 1-0 to a late Mitch Brundle goal.

The likes of Yasin Ben El-Mhanni, Jamie Holmes and Dan Ward all played a part in the practice match, with Michael Newberry clocking up 90 minutes.

With first-team trio Ameobi, Massadio Haidara and Matz Sels having featured against the Hammers the previous Saturday, it was to prove a useful run-out for the quartet – all of whom could come back into contention for the Royals’ visit.

Beardsley admits he is still unsure as to whether he will be able to call upon the services of any of the club’s senior performers on Monday, but feels his own charges will be raring to go whatever the case.

“There were three or four who missed out against West Ham, so they needed a game to freshen up. It was good for everybody, really. Now, they are all ready to go,” he said.

“Looking at the competition we have, if we get Sammy, Sadio and Matz, there is a knock-on where some of them think, ‘Can I get in the team?’ But, they train every day and they have to do the best they can. Today, for example, Jamie Holmes did really well, so there are always things that stand out.

“We don’t know what positions are up for grabs until we’re told off the gaffer. The first team are playing twice in the next week, so we might not get anybody in between.”