Phil to banish Bard memory

PHIL BARDSLEY is convinced he can make up for his Wembley heartbreak by lifting the Capital One Cup with Stoke.

The defender is targeting a second final in three years after helping the Potters reach their first semi-final since 1972.

And the 30-year-old reckons he can go a step further than in 2014 when he was part of the Sunderland side which lost 3-1 to Manchester City at Wembley.

“Any player starting out as a pro strives to get silverware,” said Bardsley, who scored in Tuesday’s 2-0 quarterfinal win over Sheffield Wednesday.

“That’s the objective and I’m no different. You want to play in finals, so to get to Wembley and play in another one would be superb.

“It’ll be two tough games over a two legged semi-final, but hopefully we can turn them over.”

Bardsley’s final Black Cats goal came in the Capital One Cup and he opened his account for Stoke with a 30-yarder on Tuesday.

And Bardsley hopes to use his exploits in the competition to nail down a Premier League place, having figured just once in league action this season.

“We’re a strong squad, there are 24 senior players fighting to get into the team,” he said.

“I’ll keep applying myself in the right manner and hopefully my chance will come.”