Chris Powell plans to make the most of a blank New Year’s Day as he plots another FA Cup run.

The Town boss guided Charlton Athletic to last season’s quarter-finals.

Now his focus is on Saturday’s third-round tie at home to Championship rivals Reading.

It’s the second of three successive home assignments for Town, with Watford visiting for a league game on Saturday week.

And the manager is eager to build on Sunday’s 2-1 success against Bolton Wanderers at the John Smith’s Stadium, saying: “Our home form has been generally good.

“We had a blip against Birmingham (who won 1-0) when we were flat.

“But against Bolton, we had the kind of intensity I am after.

“There will be ups and downs, and there is certainly a need to improve away from home.

“I want us to keep our home form solid, and we have two big games coming up.

“Watford have hardly been out of the top six all season.

“And Reading have a new manager (Steve Clarke) in place and had a good win over Norwich on Sunday.”

Powell added: “After two games in three days, I’m happy not to be playing on New Year’s Day for a change.

“The Premier League are playing, but there are no Football League fixtures, so we have some extra time.

“That gives us the chance to get the players recovered and refreshed.”