Wes expects tight tussle
Wes Brown believes SaturdayÂ’s FA Cup final clash with Chelsea will be a battle of wills.
The Reds are going for a third domestic Double under Sir Alex Ferguson, while Jose MourinhoÂ’s men will be looking to avenge defeat in the title race and seal their own domestic Double having picked up the Carling Cup in February.
Brown, a first team regular of late, is expecting a tight affair at Wembley but feels United have the determination and ability to finish on top.
“It’ll be a tight game and both teams will be looking to outplay the other,” Brown told ManUtd.com. “But we know if everyone plays well on the day we can definitely win it.
“I think it’ll be a battle of wills – we want the Double and I’m sure they want revenge [for the title]. We mustn’t be over confident going into the game because we know what Chelsea can do.
“We lost out to Arsenal two years ago and we certainly don’t want the same scenario again. We’ve just got to go out there and play our football and try and win it for the fans, as well as ourselves.
“It would be a great achievement to win the Double,” he adds. “A lot of people wrote us off before this season, but we’ve got the Premiership title back now and hopefully we can add the FA Cup to it. Everyone is raring to go for Saturday and if we can do it, it’ll be up there with our best ever achievements.”
In the absence through injury of first choice centre back pairing Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in recent weeks, Brown has been a tower of strength within the RedsÂ’ back line. But the 27-year-old believes the defensive duo have earned the right to start on Saturday even if it means Brown has to relinquish his place.
“They've had a great season together and when they’re both fit you simply have to play them,” he insists. “They’ve been the backbone of what we’ve achieved and you have to give credit where it’s due and they fully deserve it.”
An ankle injury to Gary Neville means the right back berth is up for the grabs with Brown and John OÂ’Shea being the main candidates to the skipper's place.
“It’s unfortunate for Gary – he’s a great captain for us and we’ll miss him,” explains Brown. “But as is the way in football, bad news for one player is always good news for another. It looks like the right back spot will be between myself and John. It’ll be unlucky for the one that doesn’t play but we respect each other and hope each other does well.”