Carson looking to hit all targets

Albion captain Scott Carson is convinced the team can hit a winning double after revealing how darts is keeping them flying on their travels.

The goalkeeper believes the Baggies can find a promotion bullseye and stay on target in the FA Cup – with a new sporting contest bonding them off the field.

Carson and Co are back on the Cup oche tomorrow with a fifth-round trip to Reading the first of three successive away matches in eight days.

With Roberto Di Matteo's men set to clock up more miles, they are certain to renew their tungsten tussles during pre-match preparations after Carson's decision to buy a mobile board proved a massive hit with his colleagues.

He said: "I'm sure there will be another round before Reading. Every time we go on the bus we fling it on and it just gives the lads something to do. If you've been on a bus for three hours the last thing you want to do is lie on your bed for another three hours.

"Normally we get on the bus for three hours, get there are 4pm or 5pm and, until we have our dinner at 7.30, we're sitting doing nothing. So it's good to do something, just for half an hour, and we have a coffee and a laugh.

"It saves being bored, twiddling your thumbs in your room. When the World Championships were on around Christmas the lads were getting right into it. We have always said, for a bit of team bonding, we would like to see Premier League darts.

"But, with it being on a Thursday, it's difficult. I did a bit of searching on the internet for travel boards, because sometimes when we get to the hotel they can be long days.

"We took it to Blackpool and Plymouth and it gives the lads something else to do. It seemed to get everyone together a bit more."

The craze sweeping The Hawthorns dressing room is proving especially successful for Carson and goalkeeping back-up Dean Kiely, who are heading the Baggies' leaderboard.

Carson said: "I think it's between me and Deano at the top. It's pretty tight. We did set off to keep a score of our matches but I think it was 6-6 the last time we recorded it, so it's that close.

"Jonas Olsson is the one you avoid. He's a bad loser. Graham Dorrans beat him the other day and Jonas threw another one.

"If 'Dozza' had missed the last couple of games it would have been because he had a dart in the back of his head."

Albion head for the Madejski Stadium tomorrow defending a proud away record, that includes just two defeats all season in all competitions.

But Carson has light-heartedly played down the impact of darts on the Baggies' success on the road.

He joked: "I can't take the credit for all that. I'll take it for the last two away games and the togetherness we had there, but it's only just started.

"It will probably get forgotten in a couple of weeks, but it's good fun at the moment."

The Baggies find themselves just two wins away from another appearance at Wembley just two years after they reached the national stadium, only to lose their cup semi-final 1-0 to eventual winners Portsmouth.

This season's competition has mirrored that of 2008 with three of the Premier League's 'big four' already out.

Carson believes that gives Albion hope of another prolonged run.

He said: "That's the big incentive for us. Chelsea are the favourites and they have to be respected. But in a one-off game of football anything can happen.

"We're not underestimating Reading but we're in good form, we have confidence and if we can beat them we would just hope to get a bit of luck in the draw and then we could be at Wembley.

"Once you're at Wembley anything can happen. It doesn't matter who you're up against, it's a totally different kettle of fish."

Once more Albion find themselves juggling an FA Cup run with a Championship promotion campaign – a balance Tony Mowbray's Baggies of two years ago managed with a degree of success.

Carson is confident that League and Cup success can go hand in hand again.

He said: "It can take a bit of pressure off us being away from the league. The run-in is going to be tight and there will be a lot of pressure on the teams going for play-offs and promotion.

"People say being in the Cup can work against you but I think it will be great for this club. We've won the last four games and are in good form. We don't just want to go to Reading, get beaten and lose momentum.

"Hopefully it will prove another stepping-stone for the Championship games coming up."

Carson and his team mates will also defend a seven-match unbeaten run at Reading – a sequence that began after their dismal home defeat to promotion rivals Nottingham Forest.

The skipper believes the disappointment of losing 3-1 to their promotion rivals might have served to galvanise the side.

He said: "At the time there were a few things said in the dressing room and it was a little bit heated. But I think it has opened our eyes. Maybe before that game we just thought we could cruise our way to automatic promotion.

"But since then we can't fault anybody from the coaching staff, to the players, everybody has put an extra shift in and worked twice as hard. I think that has been the main reason for our good form at the moment.

"We have worked hard and on Saturday against Plymouth in the second-half we were a little bit tired, but the players stuck together and kept each other on their toes.

"Maybe at the start of the season we would have lost or drawn a couple of the recent games, but there is a great desire in the players."