HARDLY A CLASSIC

Carlos Queiroz has revealed Manchester United will not be able to claim it has been a good season even if they win the FA Cup.

A troubled week for United began with the stunning defeat at Norwich, continued with more lurid allegations about Wayne Rooney, saw skipper Roy Keane lambast his own team-mates and Rio Ferdinand spotted having dinner with Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon, and United must now firmly adjust their focus to Sunday's FA Cup semi-final with Newcastle.

Just as they were 12 months ago, Sir Alex Ferguson's men are now in the uncomfortable position of knowing their only chance of landing any silverware this season rests with the world's oldest domestic knockout competition.

But Queiroz, who returned to Old Trafford as Ferguson's assistant after an ill-fated season with Real Madrid, accepts in a season scarred by another early European exit and a second-successive Premiership fade-out, the FA Cup in itself is not a cause for major celebration.

"We cannot say it is a good season just because we win the FA Cup," he told BBC GMR.

"The major expectation of Manchester United is to go as far as we can in Europe and our first priority is always the league.

"If we accept winning the FA Cup represents a good season, we are not at the level everybody expects us to be."

In making his observation, Queiroz is at odds with Ferguson, who insists "in these intensely competitive days, to win a trophy a season adds up to a satisfactory return".

A second-placed finish and an FA Cup triumph would probably be regarded as cause for quiet celebration, especially as any realistic hope of overhauling Chelsea probably disappeared with the draw at Crystal Palace on March 5 anyway