After reaching the Premier League Cup final last term, Lewis Cass is aiming for Newcastle United Under-23s to go one better in the tournament ahead of Monday's last-16 tie at Exeter City.
The young Magpies make the 734-mile round-trip to Devon to face the Grecians at St. James Park (kick-off 7pm GMT) as Chris Hogg's side bid to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for a fourth successive season.
Newcastle's youngsters, who suffered a narrow defeat to Everton in last season's final, are currently on a seven-game unbeaten streak in all competitions and Cass, an ever-present in United's defence this term, is determined the positive form can continue.
"We got to the final last year so we want to replicate that and hopefully go the next step further and win the competition," Cass told nufc.co.uk. "It's all about playing well in the cup games and just trying to get through to the next round.
"Everything is coming together and we've been speaking about when we get all moments of the game spot on, then the performance will care take of itself. We've kept the ball out of one end and been scoring goals at the other, so it's been pretty good recently.
"We've scored a lot of goals in this competition (12) and, when you are scoring, that's something that doesn't come easy so it's a really good thing for the team.
"We've kept a lot of clean sheets recently which, as a defender, is pleasing. We just need the players at the top of the pitch to do the rest. Keeping clean sheets has been something that we've been wanting to replicate quite often throughout the season and that has came around in the last few games.
"We don't know what will happen with the league table at the minute so it's all about trying to play as many games as possible. If we can get through the rounds, that will give us a great chance in doing that.
Newcastle sealed qualification into the knockout stages after finishing in second place of Group C, which contained winners West Bromwich Albion along with Hull City and Scunthorpe United.
Cass, who featured on the bench for Newcastle's Emirates FA Cup third round clash at Rochdale in January, believes his side must take precaution of Exeter, who are unbeaten in the competition after topping Group D, scoring 14 goals in the process.
"We'll know it will be a tough game," the 20-year-old added. "We know they'll come out fighting but after 45-50 minutes, hopefully the fitness levels that we've been putting in will show for the rest of the game and try to dominate with the ball.
"If Exeter topped their group, we cannot underestimate them. It's one of those where the team are unknown so we will have to be careful. They will have a few threats so we'll be looking to work them out early and take that into consideration.
"As a group, we're all stuck together and a very tight-knit group, especially going out on the pitch. We all fight for each other and hopefully we can do that on Monday night.
"Coming into the season, we didn't know what to expect with the squad but after Christmas, we've been in brilliant form so if we can carry on like this, there's no reason why we can't go further in the competition."