I want to knock Manchester United off their pedestal, says City midfielder Ireland

Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland wants to knock Manchester United 'off their pedestal' and has pledged to stay at Eastlands until he has a stand named after him.Ireland joined City's youth set-up at the tender age of 15 before making his competitive debut in 2005. He has now made 113 appearances for the club and scored 14 goals.The 22-year-old says he wants to follow in the footsteps of United stalwarts Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs and become a legend in the blue half of Manchester. Planning long-termL Stephen Ireland wants a stand at Eastlands named after himAnd he hopes to be around long enough to turn mega-rich City into a bigger club than Manchester United, reports the Manchester Evening News.'I would like to achieve at City what Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs have done at United,' said Ireland. 'They have been fantastic servants to the club and won cupboards full of medals.'I would love to think that at 33 or 34 years of age I would still be playing for City.'Those two United players are legends at Old Trafford and that is apath I want to follow and what I want to be at Eastlands. In fact, oneof my aims is to play so well for so long here I have a stand namedafter me!'I want to stay at City as long as possible and knock United off their pedestal.'United are still the target to aim at, they have things right there, and we are on the way to matching them in all aspects.' Chelsea and City face fight from 'everyone in England' to sign Trezeguet, claims proud dadMANCHESTER DERBY SPECIAL: Sportsmail takes City and United on a trip down memory laneMANCHESTER CITY FC

Source: Daily_Mail