Tim Sherwood praises supporters after Aston Villa beat Liverpool to reach FA Cup final

Manager Tim Sherwood praised Aston Villa's supporters for helping his side beat Liverpool 2-1 in Sunday's (19 April) FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

Sherwood, who has been in charge for two months, out-thought counterpart Brendan Rodgers as Villa deservedly progressed to the final after coming from behind to overcome a Philippe Coutinho goal after 30 minutes.

"Well it's a great occasion for the football club. Obviously nothing won yet, but not a lot of people gave us a chance coming here and playing against Liverpool. But we believed it and when we stepped foot on that pitch we realised that our fans believed it as well and that means an awful lot to us," Sherwood told reporters after the match.

"They were magnificent there, especially when we go behind they dragged us back in the game, we managed to get in the game six minutes after. Christian with a fantastic goal to be honest and then I thought we dominated the football after that and caused Liverpool a lot of problems."

Goals by Christian Benteke, the Belgian's ninth in his last seven games, and skipper Fabian Delph gave Villa victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup for the first time since 1897 when they became the second English club to win the league and Cup double.

They now have the chance of winning the Cup for the first time since their then-record seventh win in 1957. It will be their first final since 2000 when they lost to Chelsea in the last FA Cup final at the old Wembley.

Standing in their way in the final on 30 May will be the holders Arsenal.

"In terms of the underdog, you're right we will be the underdog. The pressure is on Arsenal to win the cup, they're the holders and they want to win it again. But we've got a lot of hard work, we have to put it on the back burner now, we realise we've got a lot of hard work between now and then. We need to secure our safety and then come back here and just take the game to Arsenal," said Sherwood.

Villa's past triumphs not only include a double and seven FA Cup wins but the European Cup in 1982 and seven league titles. Although they are still in a lowly league position, current form suggests Arsenal will have to work hard to beat them.

Liverpool manager Rodgers admitted after the defeat that his team lack a big-game mentality.

It was a second semi-final defeat of the season for Liverpool, who were knocked out of the League Cup by Chelsea earlier in the campaign.

"We need to have the courage now and the bravery to play better in those games, in the big games. Because as I said we didn't play well enough today, technically we weren't quite on it, we looked as if maybe the occasion and the occasion got to us a wee bit. But that's what can happen sometimes if you've got young players," said Rodgers.

On the back of last year's runners-up finish in the Premier League, having stuttered in the final throes, Rodgers knows his team need to discover a winning habit when the pressure is on.

"We've come up short in a few games. It's something that certainly we'd need to improve. But I think all these experiences for them will make them better. We're a team that's growing and as I said changed quite a bit in the summer. But all these experiences will hopefully help in the future," he added.

At a club where winning trophies has been the most basic requirement for managers over the years, Rodgers will probably not need reminding of his own shortcomings in that department.

Sunday's defeat means he will become the first Liverpool manager since Phil Taylor in the 1950s not to win any silverware in their first three seasons in charge.

The loss also ensured that Steven Gerrard's glittering Liverpool career would finish without a showpiece cup final send-off before he packs his bags for LA Galaxy in the close season.