Football: I'm not taking the Schmeichel - Reds are brilliant draw.
Byline: PETE SPEARSPETER SCHMEICHEL knows the FA Cup is Aston Villa's only chance of silverware this season but he was still delighted when the third-round draw set up a titanic clash with Manchester United.
The Old Trafford legend can't wait to lock horns with his old boss Sir Alex Ferguson at Villa Park today and he reckons playing them is better than tackling any minnow.
Villa have suffered humiliating defeats this season at the hands of Varteks in the UEFA Cup and Sheffield Wednesday in the Worthington Cup so maybe the big Danish keeper is talking sense.
Schmeichel said: "We've got an easy draw in the third round. We're virtually in the next round already.
"But in all seriousness I don't think the draw we've got is necessarily a bad thing rather than, for instance, playing someone like Darlington.
"In those sort of ties, you don't know what you are up against.
"You don't know the players and if they play a team like Aston Villa you can bet your life they'll be twice as good as they normally are.
"I've been through a lot of games like that, most famously when York beat United fair and square in the Worthington Cup and were relegated that year. You can be taken by surprise by these teams.
"When you play Manchester United you know exactly what you are up against and at certain times it can work to your advantage. I don't think anyone wins the FA Cup by having easy draws."
Schmeichel is relishing the prospect of trying to help Villa get their season back on track after they had led the Premiership in late October.
John Gregory's side go into the showdown on the back of a dismal run of results which has brought them just one win and eight points from their last 11 Premiership matches.
Schmeichel added: "We are disappointed with what we have achieved since being top but I think that is down to having inexperience of having success and being the top team.
"Once you are up there everyone wants to beat you and we've not really been able to cope with that. Since being top we have won only once.
"We're not ready enough or good enough yet to start thinking about the title.
"I also think it's wrong to go out and say we'll be in the Champions League because that is so difficult to achieve. If we can qualify for Europe then I think we will have done well."
United skipper Roy Keane is fired up for this season's FA Cup following United's disappointments of the last two years.
Keane was gutted when United were forced to withdraw two seasons ago to compete in the World Club Championship in Brazil.
His mood was no better 12 months ago when West Ham recorded a famous victory at Old Trafford to dump the Reds out at the fourth-round stage.
Fergie has never been a third-round loser and Keane hopes to keep that record intact.
He said: "We had a disappointing run last year in the FA Cup and the year before we weren't in it.
"It would be nice to get another FA Cup run going and get to the final."
Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has bagged 19 goals in 24 games, will set a club scoring record if he nets against Villa.
The Dutch striker has scored in each of his last six games and no United player has netted in seven successive matches.
Ryan Giggs is United's main fitness worry and the winger only has an outside chance of recovering from his latest hamstring injury in time to play.
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| Title Annotation: | Sport |
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| Publication: | Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland) |
| Date: | Jan 6, 2002 |
| Words: | 608 |
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