Clough in awe of United

15 February 2009 20:08
Derby manager Nigel Clough has backed Manchester United to complete a remarkable quintuple this season.[LNB] The Rams boss saw first hand on Sunday just how destructive Sir Alex Ferguson's side can be, with the Red Devils claiming a comprehensive 4-1 victory at Pride Park in the fifth round of the FA Cup.[LNB]That result keeps United on course to add the FA Cup, Carling Cup, UEFA Champions League and Premier League to their World Club Cup crown.[LNB]"If anyone can do it they can," claimed Clough.[LNB]"If United had played Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea in that form they could have put four past them, they were that good.[LNB]"We have played against them three times this season now and this was the best they played."[LNB]PositivesTaking into account United's superiority, Clough feels his side should not feel disgraced at finding themselves on the wrong end of a disappointing result.[LNB]"Given the performance, especially in the second half, against a very strong Manchester United side, we can take quite a few positives from it," he said.[LNB]"We got the ball down and played, we thoroughly deserved our goal, and had a ten-minute spell where we had a couple of opportunities and could have got it back to 3-2.[LNB]"There is no disgrace in losing today. We are pleased because we hung on in there, we didn't go ragged, we kept going.[LNB]"After the way we finished the game today we are not too disappointed about having two games coming up quickly."[LNB]

Source: SKY_Sports