Winning is all that counts: Rio

Alex Ferguson will send his troops into battle with one key message on Saturday – play the game 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 last 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.”

On the evidence of the past few weeks, it certainly seems as though the sky is the limit for United just now.

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 such as Cristiano Ronaldo or Eric Cantona, Ferguson’s present squad is built around the laudable ethic of teamwork.

No-one epitomises this more than Park Ji-sung.

When he first arrived from PSV Eindhoven in 2005, the South Korean’s signing was dismissed as nothing more than a gimmick to boost shirt sales in the Far East.

His popularity in that part of the world has had massive spin-offs for United.

However, Ferguson always knew he was signing a selfless player, whose industry would come to the fore on occasions such as yesterday.

“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 definitely an unsung hero.”

That Park should score the goal that ensured United would suffer no late scares following Didier Drogba’s equaliser on the night was indeed fitting.

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.

It was Hernandez’s performances at the World Cup that first suggested United had unearthed a rare gem.

Since then, the 22-year-old has 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.

Hernandez repeats the mantra of the team being more important than him almost as often as evergreen 37-year-old Ryan Giggs talks about a succession of landmarks in his unique career only being of interest to him when he looks back at the end of his playing days.

“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 also following up and is on the back post as well.”

When Andy Carroll was finding the net for Liverpool on Monday, he was breaking a collective duck on behalf of three forwards who cost a combined total of £112m in January. Hernandez set Ferguson back just £7m.

“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.”