Winning is all that counts - Rio

Sir Alex Ferguson will send his troops into battle with one key message on Saturday - play the game and not the occasion. Manchester derbies have always been hyped up, even more so since the massive influx of cash by Sheikh Mansour threatened to gatecrash City into England's elite. Yet nothing will compare to this weekend, when the red and blue halves of a divided city descend on Wembley with an FA Cup final place at stake. As United are still on course for the Treble following Tuesday night's Champions League quarter-final triumph over Chelsea and City are desperate to end 35 years without a trophy, the demand for victory is obvious for both sides. However, as Rio Ferdinand revealed, Ferguson will try to ensure his players ignore the outside distractions and concentrate on the only task that matters. Winning. "The manager always says you don't play the occasion you play the game," said Ferdinand. "If you get too wrapped up in all the stuff that goes on around it you lose sight of where you want to get to. We won't be taking much emotion into the game the way the fans do. We have to remain calm. Then anything is possible."

Source: PA