Curbishley desperate for win against United

Charlton chief Alan Curbishley is desperate to record the first victory of his managerial career against Manchester United tonight – to wipe the smile off the face of his friend, Alex Ferguson.

Addicks boss Curbishley has never beaten the Red Devils during his 13-year stint at the helm at The Valley but hopes to break that barren run at Old Trafford tonight.

The fixture will have a massive say on seventh-placed Charlton’s Champions League chances and, for once, put Curbishley in a good mood for his regular after-match chat with Ferguson.

“I have never seen Sir Alex in a bad mood after a game. He is normally in a good mood as he has won,” Curbishley said.

“I have also asked him on plenty of occasions what it is like to have a bad Sunday morning as he has not had many of them either.

“We are friends though. He is an old school manager and his major asset is his amazing capacity for the job.”

Curbishley today threw down the gauntlet to his players and challenged them to seize their moment in this “unique” season and bring Champions League football to The Valley.

Curbishley hopes his side ignite their run-in for victory against wounded champions United – shock 1-0 weekend losers at Portsmouth.

A three-point haul would propel Charlton above Liverpool, Newcastle and Aston Villa into fourth place and set up the sensational prospect of qualification for Europe’s elite club competition.

If Charlton were to secure their ticket to the millionaire’s playground that is the Champions League, it would represent the biggest and most outstanding achievement of any team during the Premiership’s 12-year history.

Curbishley today issued a rallying call to his troops and urged them to take advantage of the one-off scenario in which a clutch of teams more than 30 points behind champions-elect Arsenal are competing for the fourth and final place in the Champions League.

The manager said: “It is a tough ask to win at Old Trafford but doing that would set us up nicely.

“No one seems to want to take hold of fourth and pull away.

“All the teams next to each other got a point at the weekend as Liverpool drew with Fulham (0-0), we drew with Birmingham (1-1) and Aston Villa drew with Newcastle (0-0).

“I think it will go right to the last game of the season so wins are vitally important.

“You would have thought a club like ours would be under a different sort of pressure going to Old Trafford – rather than the pressure to get in the top four.

“We are going into something we have never experienced before and this is a unique season.

“The teams going for the last European league spot are 30 points behind the team that is going to win the league and that is incredible. It may never happen again.

“Next year, the top four might run away with it and there will be no chance of it happening – so the moment is now.

“The opportunity is there to grab it. We have gone three games unbeaten and let’s hope we can make it a great run-in.”

Curbishley can call upon Graham Stuart again after the midfielder overcame his back injury – but long term casualties Mark Fish, Kevin Lisbie, Richard Rufus and Gary Rowett are also out.