Bradford's dressing-room DJ dreaming of Wembley

The FA Cup giant killers take on Championship side Reading at Valley Parade in the FA Cup Sixth Round, knowing that a win will secure a spot in the semi-finals next month.

Having already dispatched Premier League big guns Chelsea and Sunderland on their Cup adventure, young Glaswegian Halliday admitted he just can’t wait to get out on the pitch against the Royals.

Speaking exclusively to TheFA.com, he said: “The excitement and anticipation started after the Sunderland game. It’s such a big occasion in The FA Cup, but we have had to bottle that up and concentrate on the league in the meantime.

“But after a good win at Crawley on Tuesday we have kept our run of confidence going and now it’s time to look forward it. I just can’t wait for the game to start.”

And as kick-off approaches, Halliday revealed he will be whipping his teammates into a frenzy prior to the match with his selection of dancefloor fillers.

He said: “I try to DJ in my spare time but with the amount of games that we have got, I don’t have much chance to at the moment.

“But music is a big passion of mine and I’ll have something upbeat on before kick-off on Saturday to get us going. A catchy beat gets us that bit more excited, so I’ll go for a bit of house I’d say.”

Halliday – who scored in the competition against Millwall and in that unforgettable 4-2 win over Jose Morinho’s side back in January – grew up watching his beloved Glasgow Rangers in a period that saw them dominate Scottish football.

And although he refuses to get carried away, he admitted he has allowed himself to dream about running out at one of the most famous settings in world football.

He said: “Obviously I’m not getting too carried away about things like that myself just now, but not a lot of people can say they have played at Wembley in their career.

“It’s arguably the most iconic stadium in the world, so to think we are only one game away from that, that’s our number one aim – put in a good performance against Reading and hopefully earn that trip to Wembley.”

With Bradford sitting just outside the play-off places in League One, Halliday could yet be making two trips to the national stadium this season.

He added: “Being only 23, to think that I could potentially make two visits to Wembley this year, it’s very exciting.  But as I said, Reading will go in as favourites, but the underdog tag does not scare us.”

Halliday notched the third in the 4-2 win over Chelsea

The midfielder moved to England after his performances on the left wing for Livingston caught the attention of then Middlesbrough manager Gordon Strachan. He made the move down to Teesside in 2010, and although he went on to help the club reach the quarter-finals of the League Cup in the 2012/13 season, Halliday says the Cup run with the Bantams is that little bit sweeter.

“For me especially, I’ve only ever had one cup run before when I was at Middlesbrough and we got to the League Cup quarter final where we got knocked out by Swansea, and obviously they went on to win it and beat Bradford in the final – but it just seems that bit more special when it is in The FA Cup.

“With the final being the last domestic game of the season in England, it makes it extra special and the FA Cup is that more widespread around the world.

“People call it the best cup competition in the world, and it can’t be too far off that.”

As he mentioned, Halliday’s Bradford team-mates are no strangers to cup runs themselves after their dramatic journey to the League Cup final in 2013 – and the survivors from that have been quick to point out the similarities between that squad and this year’s.

“There are a couple of boys here who were involved in that League Cup run for Bradford, and they have said they feel that we have the same sort of spirit this year within the squad,” revealed Halliday.

“The club is starting to get a bit of a reputation as giant killers and hopefully we can add another one on Saturday and take the club to Wembley again.”

And it won’t just be experienced heads that will be needed on Saturday according to Halliday – a raucous home following will also prove to play a vital part in any upset too.

“When we got asked the question two or three ties ago of what sort of team do we want to draw, we were looking and hoping for one of the bigger sides, just for the experience and occasion.

“Surprisingly to everyone we have managed to get through the two games, and obviously now being just one game away from Wembley, we just wanted a home tie against anyone to give ourselves the best chance to get through to the semi-final.

“At the end of the day though, they are a Championship club and have been in the Premier League recently, so they will be favourites going into it – but being a home tie, with the backing we will have from the fans, it makes it that little bit more even and hopefully it will play a massive part for us.”

Halliday says just to reach Wembley once in your career is special

Having struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular during his time at the Riverside, Halliday went out on loan to both Walsall and Blackpool in search of valuable game time – but he says it was almost love at first sight when he joined the west Yorkshire outfit in October, initially on loan again, before he made the switch permanent in January.

“I was a bit patient in terms of who I was going to on loan – I wanted to make sure it was the right club for me. Especially with me going to be out of contract in the summer, when Bradford came along, I knew the club’s stature, and I knew a few of the boys here who were previously at Middlesbrough, so it made it that bit more easier to come here,” said Halliday.

“But Bradford is a massive club within our division, and luckily since I’ve been here we have managed to win a lot of games and it’s been so enjoyable to be around.

“Our aim is to get promotion and the cup run is a massive bonus. We have a lot of big occasions and things to fight for between now and the end of the season, not only for myself but for everyone involved with Bradford. It really is a great club.”

You can follow all the action from Bradford City’s FA Cup Sixth Round clash with Reading by following @FA on Twitter. The match is also being screened live on BT Sport.