Blackburn Rovers v Leicester City
The FA Cup, Sixth Round
13 March 2005, 1.05pm
Ewood Park, Blackburn



Leicester City striker Mark de Vries is dreaming of becoming an FA Cup hero by scoring his first goal for the club this weekend against Blackburn.

De Vries has not scored since moving to the Walkers Stadium from Hearts in the January transfer window, but is hoping The FA Cup will become his lucky omen as he attempts to fire the Foxes into the next round.

Championship outfit Leicester will be able to take their minds away from their disappointing league form when they make the journey to Ewood Park on Sunday.

And Dutch forward De Vries hopes to use the Sixth Round clash to finally get his name on the scoresheet for his new side.

De Vries said: "Everybody has been going on about the fact that I am yet to score a goal here but I'm not really nervous about that at the moment. Once I have found the net everybody will forget about it.

"It is taking some time but maybe I will score against Blackburn on Sunday.

"I've been around long enough to know my own game. I am a little bit frustrated but I know the goals are going to come - I am confident enough to say that."

De Vries came close to hanging up his boots earlier in his career, but Craig Levein was one of the men to help him turn around his thinking and offered him a new start in Scotland with Hearts.

De Vries has never looked back and he now wants to thank Foxes boss Levein for giving him new hope.

He added: "I came close to packing up the game about seven or eight years ago before I left to play in France.

"I was almost ready to jack it in again when I came back from France. But there were a few people who influenced me to carry on and I am very grateful for them for doing that.

"I would include Craig Levein in that. He took me from Dordrecht and played me for two-and-a-half years after I'd almost decided to quit playing football. I am very grateful to him for that.

"It would be a great way to repay him for his faith by scoring the winner to take us through to the semi finals on Sunday. That's my dream but we will have to wait and see."

Despite growing up outside of England De Vries admits he has always been mesmerised by the magic of The FA Cup.

He made his debut for Leicester in their Third Round tie with Blackpool, and now wants to make a big impact on the competition he has grown to love.

Speaking to Leicester's official website the 29-year-old insisted: "I am sure we will rise to the occasion.

"Blackburn are doing well at the moment. They have a couple of players that used to play here which will add a bit of spice to it. They will want to do well against their old team.

"The FA Cup has been a big bonus for me since I joined the club. I made my debut in the third round of the competition and at that stage you couldn't have foreseen us going this far. Let's hope we can take it one stage further.

"I was very much aware of The FA Cup and its tradition when I was growing up in Holland. It's very popular over there and the final is televised live. It is a competition that really grabs the imagination."