The Sky Blues reached the semi-finals of the world famous competition in the previous campaign, only losing out on penalties to eventual winners Manchester United after a thrilling 3-3 draw at Wembley Stadium last April.
Town return to the Coventry Building Society Arena today (3pm) looking to avoid a third straight exit at the fourth round stage, having been beaten by Maidstone United, who Coventry beat in the following round, last season.
Burgess referenced Town’s quieter match schedule in the Premier League this season as one of the key reasons why he feels it is important for the Blues to enjoy the extra games that an FA Cup run would bring.
“We’ve gone from last season having a lot of games to this season having not as many so we want to go as far as we possibly can in this tournament and we feel like we can with the squad we’ve got and that’s what we’re going to try and do,” he said.
“Coventry would be the exact same, they did it last year and deservedly so, they were a great team then and are a great team now and are showing that in recent weeks in the league.
“I think it will be a really good game and definitely not one to take lightly. It will be a tough game and we’re expecting that for sure.”
Town will look to avoid a fifth straight defeat having lost their last four matches in the Premier League, seeing them fall into the relegation zone and three points adrift from safety.
“Results-wise it’s a bit difficult to say because we’ve proven this season that you don’t know where your wins or points are going to come from – it could be against the so-called form teams in the league or bigger teams in the league, or it could be against teams that are at the other end of the table not in great form.
“So results-wise it’s a bit difficult to say, but performances is where our focus is and if we can build momentum in performances that will stand us in good stead for Aston Villa.”
He added: “It’s a new group, we’ve made some changes this season both in the summer and in January. To come into a tough league and make changes is not always going to be easy.
“At the same time, the quality we have in the dressing room leaves us with no excuses on that front.
“It’s up to us to perform, we know enough of what we’re doing now and the players we have in the building are going to be enough to win games no matter who it is against.
“It’s up to us to put in the performance and implement the game plan on the day and that’s what we’ll try and do.”
A trip to Coventry does bring back lots of happy memories for Burgess and the Blues, Kieran McKenna’s side having won 2-1 there in April last year to move onto the brink of promotion to the Premier League.
Burgess, who struck the winning goal on that famous Tuesday evening, recalled the build-up to the clash which took Town to the cusp of the top flight.
The 29-year-old said: “It was a busy time for me personally as it was around the time that my second son was born so it was special times for that. It was also a busy period for football, it was a busy end to the season and there was a lot of build up towards the game and an exciting end to the season.
“I was nervous for the right reasons but more excited as well. Going into the game we knew we could do something special, obviously it turned out that way which is nice to look back on. It was excitement to get into the game and get stuck in.
“The approach was the same as it had been all season – stick to the process and stick to what we do. We didn’t change anything all season in terms of our mindset going into the game, so it was a case
of doing what we know we can and taking the game on 100 per cent and going at it to try and get the win.”
On his fifth and most famous Blues goal, Burgess added: “At the time it was a special moment. In the emotions of the game we felt like we were in control for the first half of the game and for it to go 1-1
was a bit of a sickener.
“To keep pushing showed the spirit we’ve got in the group, luckily it fell to one of us and I was thankful it was me and be able to squeeze the ball in the back of the net. It was a great win in the
end.
“Not my best goal in terms of quality, but probably in terms of importance. It was a massive moment and a huge step in the right direction. It was one of the many moments across the season that helped us to get to where we are today.”
The scenes at the full-time whistle were ones of jubilation among the 2,500 away supporters in the West Midlands, where the Blues squad achieved a result similar in scale to the victory at Barnsley
during the League One promotion season a year earlier.
Reflecting on the support and the celebrations inside the dressing room, Burgess said: “Going back to the Barnsley one and the Coventry one, it’s probably from the fans’ point of view a bit of a sigh of relief that we’d got that big step closer and everything played out to be in our hands going into the last game of the season.
“It was hugely important but they all were over the course of the season, it’s just a nice part of the journey and one to look back on with fond memories.
“It was a good moment to celebrate with the fans and enjoy that, they obviously travelled in their numbers and were in great voice all night.
“To enjoy it in the changing room and celebrate for what only felt like a few minutes before attention turned to the Huddersfield game and the job’s not finished, we knuckled down as soon as we left the changing room.”
