GIVE THEM HELL

“Tuesday's game is massive for us. It's probably the biggest match of our season. We need the crowd right behind us and we know they will be. Old Trafford is a difficult place for opposition teams to play at on big European nights.

“Our record there is outstanding and we will not let our fans down.”

On their diving:

“In a real electric atmosphere at Old Trafford they will have a hard night. These antics are part of their culture and there’s nothing you can do about that.

“My players have to be aware of that as well but it can get frustrating. Hopefully we will be allowed to tackle — we couldn’t get near them over there.”

Meanwhile, in a story that has probably been leaked to them to unsettle the player ahead of Tuesday, the Sun claims:

Alex Ferguson is lining up a £6million summer swoop for Porto’s Paulo Ferreira. Fergie has sent his brother Martin to watch the Portugal right-back, who was voted into the 2002-03 UEFA Team of the Year ahead of Michel Salgado and Lilian Thuram.

Manchester United boss Fergie gave his seal of approval after Ferreira, 22, turned in an outstanding display in Porto’s 2-1 Champions League second-round, first-leg victory in Portugal 12 days ago.

Elsewhere Giggs says:

“We didn't want to go stumbling into Tuesday's game. We needed a solid performance and we got one. We are still in three competitions and we have the players who can win trophies.

“With Manchester City coming up on Sunday as well, this is a very important week for us and we needed to get on a winning run.

“It is good to be back in the semi-finals of the FA Cup again because it is such a fantastic tournament but now we are all fully focussed on Porto and hopefully things will go our way.”