GERARD Houllier has vowed that Villa will take the FA Cup seriously – despite their precarious Premier League position.

Captain Stiliyan Petrov suggested that he didn’t “care about the Cup” while the club were stuck in the bottom three.

Despite leading Villa out for their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea at Wembley last April, Petrov said: “I will take staying in the Premier League where we are at the moment, I won’t even care about the Cup, I am sorry to say that.”

But Houllier has fond memories of domestic football’s leading knockout competition and intends to name a strong line-up in today’s third-round tie against Micky Adams’ Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

And he hopes a positive result against the Championship strugglers will have a knock-on effect for Villa’s survival bid with crucial league games against Birmingham and Manchester City on the horizon.

“I think the FA Cup is vital for us because a win would give us a lot of confidence ahead of the games against Birmingham and Manchester City,” said Houllier, an FA Cup winner with Liverpool in 2001.

“It’s not a distraction. It’s a great competition, it’s every British player’s dream when he is young to walk through the tunnel at Wembley. Never mind winning it, they want to play in the final. The FA Cup belongs to the players. It brings different emotions. It’s a good opportunity to have something positive happen.

“Both teams obviously raise their game a level for an FA Cup tie.”