Exclusive: Irwin calls on Man Utd to halt City’s treble march as he makes FA Cup final prediction

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19 October 2024, 03:15 yayınlandı

Man Utd have a duty to halt Man City’s treble march in this weekend’s FA Cup final as Erik ten Hag looks to pick up his second trophy of the season.

That the message from United’s 1999 treble winner Denis Irwin, who has spoken exclusively to Football365 ahead of Saturday’s all-Manchester FA Cup final between Man Utd and City at Wembley.

The Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup clean sweep achieved by Man Utd 24 years ago secured Sir Alex Ferguson’s side a unique place in English folklore as the first club to complete the magical treble.

Now Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are just two games away from replicating the achievement, with the current Man Utd side getting a chance to halt their march .

After that, City will face a Champions League final against Inter Milan in Istanbul a week later.

Man Utd 1999 treble winners Roy Keane and Gary Neville have been vocal in expressing their hope that City to slip-up in their treble chase and now one of their team-mates from that fabled team have joined that chorus.

Irwin played 48 games a campaign that ended with United beating Bayern Munich in a dramatic Champions League final and now the Irishman has admitted he will have more than one reason to cheer on his old club at Wembley on Saturday.

“I don’t want City to do the treble and I have no problem admitting that,” Irwin told Football365.

“We want to be the only team that did it and I’d be delighted to see City slip up in the FA Cup final.

“I obviously want United to win anyway and if it stops City doing the treble at the same time then that would be extra sweet.

“I’m sure all the United lads from the 1999 team would say the same and that’s not being selfish.

“We were the first win the win treble of the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup and that makes it special, but you don’t want another team doing it.

“This is the toughest challenge in football and up to now, we are the only team that managed it and I want it to stay that way.

Manchester United Treble winners of 1999

Irwin went in suggest those who have written off his former club ahead of the FA Cup final may regret their verdict, as he suggested a City side that hammered Man Utd 6-3 earlier this season are beatable.

“A lot of people are discounting this FA Cup Final and saying City will win it pretty easily, but I don’t see it like that,” he stated.

“City have had a few upsets over the course of this season and United have a decent record against them in recent years, so they can do this.

“Erik ten Hag has changed the mentality at United and when you consider where they were a year ago, this is a massive improvement.

“They were lucky to finish sixth last season and Ten Hag had a massive job on his hands when he came into the job.

“He had to change the mentality around the club in many ways as things had gone wrong for a long time and he did that very quickly.

“The manager had to make some big, brave decisions very quickly over key players, with Ronaldo the biggest of the lot.

“If that backfired and United didn’t kick on after Ronaldo left, the manager could have been under pressure, but they won the League Cup, got back into the Champions League and now they could win the FA Cup. By anyone’s standards, that would be a very good season.”

Irwin admits he would not have relished a battle with City goal scoring machine Erling Haaland, with the big Norwegian boasting too many qualities for a defender to handle.

“How do you stop him? There is no real answer to that question,” added the former United defender.

“Haaland is unusual in so much as he is tall, powerful and very quick. It’s not often you come up against a player who has all three of those attributes at the level he is playing at.

“His physicality is another big strength. You can’t really intimidate him or knock him out of his stride and that’s the concern for a defender.

“What tactic can you use to deal with him? I don’t think anyone has worked that out yet.”