Sponsored by
Man Utd v Leeds United: Grayson: We can upset the Reds
Leeds United manager Simon Grayson says his players will exit the away dressing room at Old Trafford tomorrow believing they can cause one of the FA Cup's biggest upsets and beat Manchester United.
Grayson plans to use the final moments before kick-off to tell his squad that a third-round win over the reigning Premier League champions is achievable on a ground where Leeds last claimed victory 28 years ago.
The Elland Road club are a shadow of the Leeds teams who visited Old Trafford during the 1990s and the early part of the last decade, but Grayson will urge his players to have faith in their ability after a fabulous performance during the first half of the season.
Tomorrow's tie – a meeting between two of the country's most bitter rivals – will pit League One's leaders against a Manchester United side who are competing for their fourth successive Premier League title, and Leeds will be faced by a line-up similar to that which destroyed Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
But asked whether his players believed they could cause a monumental upset in Manchester, Grayson said: "They will do by the time kick-off comes around, that's for sure.
"There's so much motivation for us. We're on telly, we're playing a team who I think are the best in the country and if the players can't look forward to a game like this and try to do the best they can then they should pack in now. We've got to believe that we can go there and perform. I don't want us to sit back and accept that we're going to get beaten."
Grayson was putting his players through their final training session today, his last opportunity to ponder the line-up he will choose at Old Trafford.
United's manager and players have been open in admitting that tomorrow's cup tie is less important than their league campaign – captain Richard Naylor described the visit to Manchester United as a "distraction" this week – but Grayson does not want to waste an experience unlike any other his squad have had in his 12 months as boss.
"It's important to enjoy it, thrive on it and learn from it," he said. "By the end of the game, I think we'll all have learned a great deal about ourselves and about football. It can be an inspiration for the rest of the season.
"There's a lot confidence and belief here. We're defending as a team and looking like we're going to score in most games. With respect to the teams we've beaten in League One, this is different. They're probably the best team in Europe but we know what we're setting out to achieve."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
