Ellis Simms shared his thoughts following his first career hat-trick, as Coventry City dispatched National League South side Maidstone United 5-0 to book their place in the quarter finals of the FA Cup.
Ellis Simms scored three times in the first half, as he helped overcome the Stones in the fifth round.
Fabio Tavares got in on the goalscoring act and made it a full house of goals, much to the delight of the Sky Blue fans and manager Mark Robins.
On his hat-trick…
“I am delighted on a personal note to get the match ball and the Player of the Match award, but most importantly, to get the result.
“It is my first career hattrick so hopefully I can build on that, gain some momentum and confidence.
“It is nice to have a run of games, to build up confidence and momentum.
“It is great, the manager is putting his trust in me, to go up there and lead the line so I need to repay him, the fans and the whole squad. By putting a shift in and working hard, and the rest will take care of itself.
“It was important we progressed into the next round, especially after the disappointing result here on Friday.
“We had to put things right tonight.”
The perfect first half…
“It is nice to score early in general to kind of calm the nerves down.
“As a team today, we were ruthless. We started fast so yeah it was a great night for us.”
Kasey Palmer’s involvement in his goals…
“Kasey is a top player. He has the vision. I am making those runs in behind and he is finding me.
“It is great to play with players like him.”
His dedication to Tatsuhiro Sakamoto…
“We were in the huddle and we discussed if anyone scored, we would dedicate the goal to him.
“As you all know he suffered an injury in the last game so he might be out for a long period of time.
“He is a popular team member in our squad so I want to dedicate (my goal) to him.
“I am sure the club has not had that many Japanese players before, so for him to move country and settle the way he has is very welcoming.
“He is learning English and speaking fluently, but he will be a miss for a few weeks.
“Hopefully when he is back in, we can all be happy and smiling again.”
On Tavares’ goals…
“We are all delighted for him! We know he was out for a long period of time with his injury. But now he is back!
“He has been training regularly so I am sure with the two goals tonight, he will be buzzing and he can kick on, build confidence and momentum into the next games."
The next round of the FA Cup…
“I do not really have a preference. Nobody particularly.
“We know there is only top teams left in the competition, so we know whoever we get, it is going to be a difficult game.
“We just have to wait and see and hopefully we can prepare right for that game and progress again.”
On the support…
“With our fans especially at home, they are like an extra man, getting right behind us.
“But on the other hand, our away support, we always fill the allocation.
“So preferably (a tie) at home, but if not, away. I am sure we will bring a lot of supporters and they will get right behind us.”