OFF THEIR F****** PERCH

Last updated : 09 November 2003 By Editor

"It's been well documented by me that this is the game which rises above all other matches we play in each season, irrespective of ourselves and Arsenal dominating the Premier League over the last few years.

"And there have been some classic games. It's never a negative game because both teams always know they need to win.

"It could certainly be a good game tomorrow. Liverpool haven't had the start they wanted but it doesn't make it less of a game for us, or any easier. Actually it probably makes it harder.

"We know if we come away from there with a result it will be a significant one in terms of the championship.

"There is an intensity and an importance about the fixture, though it is never a game which has got out of order. There has never a game that's been truly nasty.

"When there were players like Robson, McMahon, Whiteside and Moses, it was a bit more tasty then.

"But in the last 10 or 11 years it's never really got out of order."