Saha: we can win treble

LOUIS SAHA has admitted the desire to right the wrongs of the past three seasons will burn deep inside Manchester United at the Stade Felix-Bollaert tonight.

United tackle Lille looking to make the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2003, when the Red Devils were turfed out by Real Madrid.

Since then, a miserable tale of European woe has included first knockout round defeats to FC Porto and AC Milan before a humiliating group stage exit 12 months ago.

The failure to beat, or even score, in two games against tonight’s opponents was a major contributing factor to one of the most embarrassing European adventures of Alex Ferguson’s 20 years at Old Trafford.

And Saha has revealed the eagerness among his team-mates to ensure the Red Devils endure no repeat.

“There is a desire in the dressing room to put what happened in the last three years right,” said the French forward.

“I am not going to say Lille didn’t play well against us last year but the problem was more due to our performances.

“However, we are playing even better now, everyone is full of confidence and we do feel we have the potential to win the Champions League and people outside England feel that way too.”

Six points clear of Chelsea in the Premiership and with the prospect of an FA Cup quarter-final trip to either Middlesbrough or West Brom if they can overcome Reading in a replay on February 27, United have every reason to feel confident as they approach the final three months of the campaign.

In fact, whisper it quietly, but conversation within the Old Trafford dressing room has even drifted towards the unprecedented 1999 treble-winning campaign which the current Red Devils may yet emulate.

“We have to go for the whole lot,” said Saha.

“When you think about the opportunity in front of us, it is amazing.

“We have been joking in the dressing room about 1999.

“It would be unbelievable to achieve it because what happened that year was incredible.

However, the arrival of Henrik Larsson from Helsingborg threatens to consign the Frenchman to the substitutes bench tonight.

Larsson has already struck up a productive partnership with Wayne Rooney and, mindful of the veteran Swede’s last game in the competition when he came off the bench to inspire Barcelona to their final victory over Arsenal in Paris last May, Ferguson may opt to start with the on-loan forward.

Despite complaining about the scheduling of Saturday’s FA Cup tie, Ferguson is able to select from a full-strength squad, including first-choice keeper Edwin van der Sar, who has recovered from the broken nose he suffered at Tottenham a fortnight ago.

Lille manager Claude Puel believes his players have an “attack-minded” mentality which will see them go toe-to-toe with Manchester United.

He insists his players are no longer scared to be facing up to Europe’s heavyweight teams, such as United.

“The big difference has been the change in mentality,” he said. “We were like spectators last year.

“This year we have more ambition and we’re more attack-minded.

“The players have realised they don’t need to feel inhibited when they play top teams.

“When we went to Milan, we went there believing we could win. I always want my players to impose themselves rather than worry about the opposition. That philosophy has stuck with me.”