Manchester United are set to take on Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup.
It’s a rather peculiar fixture for Manchester United, who are so used to taking on sides at Old Trafford in cup competitions.
A trip to the DW Stadium awaits for Erik ten Hag and his Manchester United side. They’ll be looking to kick off the FA Cup campaign with a win as they begin their road to redemption after last year’s bitter final loss against Manchester City.
In their path stands Shaun Maloney’s Latics side. The Wigan manager is a Manchester United fan himself.
Shaun Maloney on Sir Alex Ferguson
Shaun Maloney is set to manage against the side he supports on Monday. The 40-year-old former winger spoke before the match as to why he supports the Red Devils, with big influence coming from former boss Sir Alex Ferguson:
“That’s the reason why I began to support United [Sir Alex’s Scottish links] and I’ve been really lucky to meet him a couple of times,” says Maloney.
“When I was still at Belgium [as a coach under Roberto Martínez] I went to meet him in his office in Wilmslow. I was on a train heading down to London and his son [Jason] walked by. We got speaking and I said that I would love to meet his dad.
“We swapped email addresses and the very next day he sent me an email. I got in touch and his secretary arranged for me to meet him. It was just by chance, really fortunate, and I just sat and listened to him for two hours.
“Because I was such a big fan as well, I just wanted to ask him questions about the history of the club. Also, Belgium had some really elite players, still do, massive players like Hazard, De Bruyne, Courtois, Kompany.
“He had lots of players at that level through Manchester United and that was the main basis for speaking to him. Man-management was a big part of it. It was incredibly gracious of him to give me two hours.”
Shaun Maloney on Manchester United
Maloney spoke about the history of the club and how he just fell in love with it. He also gave a huge compliment to a current Manchester United star.
“I joined Celtic at 16 and started to learn about the Lisbon Lions, the history and individual players, then I started doing the same about Manchester United,” he says.
“You go through the era of the late 50s, early 60s and the story behind it and what they achieved under Sir Matt Busby. And there was Denis Law, Paddy Crerand, Brian McClair. Now there’s Scott McTominay. There was always that link with Scotland and I love the history of the club.”
An honour for McTominay to be compared to those Scottish legends, but he is somewhat at that level now in the national team’s eyes. McTominay is the captain and leading man for his country.
Denis Law in particular is a phenomenal name to be in the same sentence as. He is one of the most prolific forwards in Manchester United’s history with 237 goals.
When it comes to Monday however, Maloney will be hoping he doesn’t put in a performance like he does on the national stage. Let’s see who comes out on top.
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