Joe Bennett eager to see Aston Villa get to Wembley

The claret and blues face Bradford City next Tuesday in the second leg of the semi-final knowing they must come back from 3-1 down against the League Two side.

And Villa left-back Bennett, who apologised for his performance in the first leg via Twitter, insisted that his dream to play at the national stadium was still alive.

He said: "I have never been to Wembley before, not even to watch a game. It would be something to really look forward to. That would be brilliant.

"But, first, we have to make sure we are 100 per cent against Bradford. We saw on Tuesday what a decent side they are and we know we have a big job on our hands."

Bennett has been asked to play on the left of midfield on occasions by manager Paul Lambert in recent weeks and the 22-year-old conceded the position has taken a bit of getting used to.

He said: "I played there a couple of times for Middlesbrough, but I'm not really used to it. I find it much harder than left-back, even though I like to get forward whenever I can.

"I think that's one of my best attributes. I liked to be involved as much as possible and get some crosses in. But the main thing for me is defending and I'm working all the time to improve my game.

"I'm just happy to be back in the swing of things after being out for so long through injury."