Fergie will keep United calm for City cup derby, reckons Rio

ALEX FERGUSON won’t need to gee up his troops ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup meeting with Manchester City. Instead the key to victory will be to keep them calm, according to Rio Ferdinand.

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, the demand for victory is obvious for both sides. However, as Ferdinand revealed, Ferguson will ensure his players ignore outside distractions and concentrate on 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.”

After months of having their abilities questioned, even when they were in the midst of a remarkable 29-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, the Red Devils have hit form at precisely the right time.

Rather than star names, the squad is built around the laudable ethic of teamwork and no-one epitomises this more than Park Ji-sung.

“The lads in the changing room sometimes laugh at the amount of work that Ji gets through because it is just ridiculous,” said Ferdinand.

“We just want to know what he eats pre-match and at home. He must have a different diet to all of us because the way he runs and the energy he has got is phenomenal.

“It is great to have him as a part of your team. He is an unsung hero.”

Javier Hernandez was just as much of an unknown quantity when Ferguson confirmed his arrival from Mexican outfit Chivas towards the end of last season. But he’s gone some way beyond any expectation.

He scored his 18th goal of the season last night, which put the trials of Fernando Torres on the same pitch and Edin Dzeko for Manchester City into some kind of perspective.

“Javier is doing things at 22 that strikers are only just learning about when they are seasoned professionals of 27 or 28,” said Ferdinand.

“He has just come to the club and is doing textbook stuff like running across the front post all the time to score goals.

“It is great to see. That is why he is nicking so many goals. He is following up and is on the back post as well.”

In the era of massive player costs, Hernandez set Ferguson back just £7m (€7.9m).

“He is definitely a bargain,” said Ferdinand. “But it doesn’t matter how much he cost, it is all about doing the job when you come in. He is doing a job fantastically well.”