Ellis Simms: Coventry City striker seeks 'momentum' after FA Cup treble

Coventry City striker Ellis Simms hopes his 35-minute FA Cup hat-trick against Maidstone United will give him "momentum" for the rest of the season.

The 23-year-old only scored four times for the Sky Blues between the start of the season and the end of January.

But his treble in the 5-0 win over non-league Maidstone made it five goals in his last four games.

"As a team we were ruthless, we started fast and it was a great night for us," he told BBC CWR Sport.

"It was my first career hat-trick, so hopefully I can build on that, gain some momentum and confidence.

"The manager is putting me up there to lead the line so I just need to repay the fans and the whole squad by putting a shift in, working hard, and the rest will take care of itself."

• Listen to the full BBC CWR interview with Ellis Simms

Coventry's win saw them reach the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2009.

And Simms was quick to praise midfielder Kasey Palmer, who was involved in the build-up to all three goals.

He said: "Kasey is a top player, he has the vision. I'm making the runs behind and he's finding me. It's great to play with players like him."

Maidstone managed to avoid further damage until the 88th minute when Fabio Tavares helped himself to the first of a quickfire double in only his fourth appearance of the season.

"He was out for a long period of time with his injury but now he's back and training regularly," added Simms.

"I'm sure after the two goals, he'll be buzzing with that and can kick on."

The draw for the quarter-finals will take place at 19:00 GMT on Wednesday evening.

Coventry will return to league action with a West Midlands derby at West Brom on Saturday.

Mark Robins' side are currently ninth in the Championship, four points outside the play-off places and five below West Brom, who are fifth.

• Listen to BBC CWR's Sky Blues Fancast