Sunderland boss Roy Keane says they're taking the Carling Cup seriously ahead of their tie with Northampton.
"The defeat at Luton last season still sticks in my throat, it was a huge disappointment, as well as losing to Wigan in the FA Cup," admitted Keane, whose side beat Middlesbrough 2-0 in the league on Saturday.
"There needs to be an improvement. We want to win as many games as possible. We want to win every game, whether it's Middlesbrough or Northampton, and I have a big squad of players to use. There's always a nice reaction when you win a game of football - there's certainly a buzz around the place after Saturday's result and it helped because it was a cracking game.
"But we have to be focused on Tuesday night now. We have to forget about the Aston Villa match on Saturday and concentrate only on Northampton, give them the respect they deserve."
Keane believes Sunderland should look to emulate other clubs who have reaped the rewards of an extended run in cup competitions.
Middlesbrough's Carling Cup win of 2004 catapulted them into European football for the first time in their history, while Blackburn and Tottenham have also lifted the Carling Cup in recent seasons, not to mention Cardiff and winners Portsmouth reaching the FA Cup Final last season.
"There has been evidence over the years that this competition can be great for clubs and with the home draw we've got to see ourselves in the hat for the next round," said Keane. "A lot of decent teams were knocked out in the last round and they would love to be in our shoes and in the third round, we have to make the most of it.
"There's still a very long way to go in the competition. Some of the big boys have joined at this round and we'll hopefully have to come up against them later down the line, but that will be harder again. A good cup run creates a buzz around a football club. There have been arguments for and against this competition over the years, but the big plus for me is just being in the next round.
"Winning football games is always a plus. We managed to get through a tough game in the last round at Nottingham Forest."
