The hardest job in English football

And he`s probably not too far from the truth. Having seen off high profile managers galore our striker backs the current gaffer to get it right:

'Glenn has the hardest job in English football but he has the quality to lead us all the way to the final. If we can win this competition for the manager, the club and the fans it would be fantastic. I cannot imagine having the UEFA Cup in my hands just yet, though, because the road to Hampden is still a long one. We have to concentrate on the next leg of the journey and that is against AZ Alkmaar, whom we have a great chance of getting past. We are feeling very good about ourselves ahead of the game against AZ Alkmaar.

We know it will be a tough fixture but we have to respect them. They are a very good team who try to play attractive football. Yet it is not about them now - we have to concentrate on ourselves. We must focus on how we will play and our own style of football. That is the key. There are lots of things to think about but we cannot spend too much time dealing with van Gaal`s comments. We have done our homework and we are ready.

If we can win this game and keep a clean sheet it will be a good night. It will be harder than the last game against Middlesbrough because Alkmaar are a better team than them. We are at home and we have to compete in every area of the field and have a big desire to beat them. It is vital we stay in this competition because it is the only cup we can win this year. We know we are not going to win the Premiership and the other cups are finished. We believe we can win this competition and we believe we can reach the final. We have trained well and I cannot see why we will not beat AZ.'

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