Reading boss Paul Ince says he’s unfazed about going to former club Manchester United this weekend for the FA Cup.
Ince joined United from West Ham for £1million in 1989 and he went on to enjoy great success at Old Trafford, winning two Premier League titles, two FA Cups, one League Cup and one UEFA Super Cup across his time at the club.
Now in charge of the Royals, Ince said: “I’m not bothered about Manchester United, to be perfectly honest. It’s a great draw for the fans and financially it will be great for the club.
“But for me, it’s just another distraction. It’s a fantastic day out [for Reading supporters], I’m just disappointed it’s on a Saturday evening at 8pm on ITV with our fans who have got to get up there and back.
“Anybody would love the opportunity to play at Old Trafford, I played there for six years and won some fantastic trophies there. It’s the Theatre of Dreams, so for our players to experience that will be great.
“It takes the Championship stress away, but it’ll be a great day for the fans.”
On facing United’s in-form striker Marcus Rashford, Ince also said: “Hopefully he’s not going to play! I was a bit disappointed they won 3-0 the other night because he might play against us now because it looks like that tie is more or less over. Like any player, it’s all about confidence and the right manager coming in and noticing how to build confidence. It is never easy because we saw in the past two years he had lost some of it.
“To see him doing what he does best is great for Manchester United and their fans. He is unplayable at the moment, unstoppable. The goal he scored against Forest showed what type of form he is in. We can’t be thinking about stopping Rashford though.
“They have so many top players – Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Wout Weghorst who got his first goal against Forest. It’s not about us stopping players, it’s about us going there and putting in a performance.”
