FERGIE POST MATCH

Last updated : 31 January 2005 By editor

Superb stand-ins
"I'm absolutely delighted with the all-round team performance. I rested Paul Scholes, Roy Keane was missing obviously and Darren Fletcher was out. We played a fresh midfield and they were very lively. They made it a quick game and I was pleased. They enjoyed it, they loved playing today. It was an FA Cup tie and an opportunity to be in the first team and they haven't let me down."

Impressive Result
"It was a tricky tie. Middlesbrough have a good record here, although maybe not in the FA Cup, and I didn't want to be sitting back and allowing them to settle in the match. We started very bright and aggressive and got the goal as early as the ninth minute which was unusual for us."

Carroll's save from Zenden
"There was a bit of slack play where we lost the ball just outside the box. They worked the move between Hasselbaink and Zenden and Roy made a really good save. It was our one worrying moment."

The boy Rooney
"He scored two fantastic goals today, incredible goals - but the boy's a special talent. It was a marvellous performance from him today. Goals like that always do you good."

The FA Cup
"It's a great tournament. We had a bonus with three home games in the Carling Cup, but the FA Cup's special and hopefully we can go a long way. All you can do in an FA Cup tie is win your game. I think we've done that very convincingly and we've been able to rest Mikael Silvestre, Paul Scholes and Louis Saha, who'd played a lot of football after a long break. Darren Fletcher, along with Alan Smith, is the player we need fit to have a really strong squad on Tuesday."

Giggs' injury
"He was just feeling a bit tight, nothing that will stop him playing on Tuesday."