MANAGERIAL COMMENTS

Clough admitted his total surprise at yesterday’s result but hailed a "heroic performance".

He said: "We had a little bit of luck in the second half but over the 90 minutes I thought the lads deserved the chance to go to Old Trafford. We had a couple of half-chances ourselves and we thought we had a decent shout for a penalty."

Ferguson chose to heap praise on Burton rather than explain why he played such a weakened side:

"We're keeping teams alive. We've given Exeter a wonderful pay-off, and this year it's Burton's turn.”

"They are satisfied with the draw and to come to Old Trafford - they are still in the cup. We were expected to win. But football is not as easy as that - you've seen the nature of FA Cup football today.

"Anything can happen. It was a difficult pitch, and our opponents were committed - you can get shocks, and fortunately we didn't get a severe shock. Nothing really serious happened against us apart from a couple of corners which were scrambled clear in the first half. We had some half-chances and one or two good chances. But I won't deny Burton - it's a great draw for them."

After last year's third-round draw on exactly the same date with Exeter, the Scot joked that United are turning out to be a financial lifeline.