The odds on Gordon Strachan's men reaching Wembley have been slashed following their pairing with First Division Charlton and the exit of several top teams.

However central defender Gary Breen is urging caution going into the tie, as he believes the 'Addicks' are as strong as several Premiership sides.

And Breen should know, the former Birmingham man is close friends with Charlton key men Dean Kiely and Mark Kinsella - his Republic of Ireland team-mates.

He said: 

"As soon as the draw was made I had Dean Kiely on the phone giving me stick about the match.

"He told me that I could go ahead and book my summer holidays for May because I would not be involved in the FA Cup final.

"Mark Kinsella has slotted in at international level excellently and has proved what a good player he is.

"There cannot be many better midfielders outside of the Premiership and he has been a big part of the good spell of form Charlton have enjoyed."

The Coventry defender has been restored to the side after a long spell on the sidelines and admits that he is delighted at the way things are going.

"We have kept three clean sheets which is down to everyone in the side starting with the strikers.

"Things are good at the moment. We have got the same feeling we had two years ago when we were going in the right direction with an excellent run of unbeaten games.

"We all seem to complement each other and I think we have got the best squad we have had for a long time."