George McCartney is well aware Coventry City will be up for the cup when they welcome West Ham United tonight.
The Northern Ireland left-back and his team-mates are mindful their hosts will be fired up for the Carling Cup tie, not least because they knocked out Manchester United in the previous round. "I don't think Coventry are going too well in the league," he said. "But when any lower league team faces a Premiership team in the cup they are going to be up for it. It is going to be a difficult game."
He added: "I am sure the manager will put out another strong team and it is up to us to perform on the night. The reward is a quarter-final and hopefully we can do it." McCartney has been a consistent performer for Alan Curbishley this season and is the only player to have featured in all 12 league and cup games. In recent matches, he and the team have adapted to an attacking 4-3-3 formation and for McCartney it has paid dividends.
The arrival of Luis Boa Morte and Nolberto Solano as substitutes against Sunderland on 21 October led to a 3-1 victory, and that was followed by an admirable 0-0 draw at Portsmouth with Carlton Cole leading the line to great effect. McCartney said: "Against Sunderland the manager brought on Boa and Nobby and went 4-3-3 and it created us a couple of goals.
"He stuck with it against Portsmouth and it matched them up because that is the formation they play. It has been working the last couple of games. Whether we stick with it or not is up to the manager but it has got us four points out of six and no one is complaining." There will certainly be no complaints tonight, either, if a last-eight place is secured.