Simon Mignolet insists Liverpool ’ s players are not feeling the pressure of trying to give Steven Gerrard a dream send-off – as their captain won ’ t let them entertain such talk . Victory over Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday enabled Brendan Rodgers ’ squad to set up a date with Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-final next Sunday and Liverpool are hot favourites to reach the final . The final , against either Arsenal or Reading , will be staged on May 30 – Gerrard ’ s 35th birthday – and has long been identified as being the perfect afternoon for Gerrard to bring the end down on his glittering Anfield career . Simon Mignolet ( left ) celebrates with Jordan Henderson after Liverpool reached the FA Cup semi-final . Philippe Coutinho ( right ) scored the winning goal in a tense 1-0 quarter-final victory against Blackburn . Captain Steven Gerrard , who is struggling to get in the side , will leave Anfield at the end of the season . It has created expectation and Liverpool have made heavy weather of getting to the semi-finals but Mignolet , who was outstanding in the 1-0 win at Ewood Park , maintains they are not thinking too far ahead . Gerrard , for one , won ’ t let them get carried away . ‘ Nobody is talking about it , ’ said Mignolet . Stevie is the first one to acknowledge that . Before we speak about the final , we have got to get through the semi-final and that is only possible after getting through here . ‘ The only thing we can keep in mind now is how to get past Villa . Then we will see what comes . Villa will be tough . He is the first one to acknowledge that we can ’ t have any extra pressure on the team ( to give him the dream send-off ) . He won ’ t let us think in a different way . Gerrard celebrates with Rafa Benitez after inspiring Liverpool to victory over West Ham in the 2006 Final . The Liverpool captain reacts after the Reds are beaten by Chelsea in the 2012 Final at Wembley . ‘ We just want to focus on Villa and the games before that . We have got something to look forward to and we want to make sure that we get to the final . That is what we said in the dressing room before the game and everyone did their jobs. ’ Liverpool last reached the FA Cup final in 2012 , when they lost to Chelsea , and have not won the trophy since Gerrard inspired their 2006 victory over West Ham in Cardiff but they won ’ t let that opportunity distract their ambitions in the Barclays Premier League . Though they have had their ambitions of finishing in the top four dented by back-to-back defeats against Manchester United and Arsenal , the picture could change once more this weekend if United win the Manchester derby and Liverpool beat Newcastle on Monday . Liverpool have seen their form slip in the league with consecutive defeats to Man United and Arsenal ( above ) ‘ We are pleased to get to the semi-final , ’ said Mignolet . ‘ Once it is semi-final time , we will make sure we are ready . But everything comes step by step . Newcastle is next . We are pleased with what we did against Blackburn but the next focus is the league . ‘ We will be ready and focused then to make sure we get to the final . The only thing we can do is focus and keep our heads down . We have got to keep doing the things we are doing . There is still a lot to play for . The only thing that we can do is take every game as it comes . ‘ When you are at Liverpool , you know you have to win every single game . After the results against Arsenal and Manchester United , we knew there was going to be criticism . You accept that . The only thing you can do is respond and we did that . Now the focus is on Newcastle . We will do our best to get three points . ’
Liverpool are set to play Aston Villa in FA Cup semi-finals on April 19 . Steven Gerrard will leave Anfield for LA Galaxy at end of the season . Simon Mignolet insists Reds are not talking about a dream send off . READ : Gerrard 's FA Cup dream on 35th birthday remains a reality . Robbie Fowler : Liverpool FA Cup hunt must not be all about Gerrard .