THE HUNGER

"Critics may have the Worthington Cup down as a nothing trophy but it spoke volumes for the desire of the United players after the win at Blackburn," says £30m record buy Rio.

"I'd recognised as soon as I came here that the senior players who'd won everything at United previously were still as hungry. The dressing room on Wednesday just confirmed it.

"You had players in there singing and dancing who'd won the treble for this club. Players who have seen it all at club level right up to winning the European Cup but it still meant as much to them as it did to people like myself who've never been to a final.

"This is exactly why I wanted to join Manchester United. The players can't get enough of playing in finals and winning things.

"The club haven't been in a final since `99 and it was obvious how delighted they were to be getting that experience once again.

"This club rightly believe they can get to every final going and will be in title battles right to the end of the season. It's the kind of belief and ambition that made me want to come here last summer."

Ryan Giggs showed some of the enthusiasm Rio was talking about in an interview with Manchester United Radio:

"The thing we had when we won the Treble was luck. Obviously we played well and put in some good performances, but you need a lot of luck, especially in the cup games. You could just have an off day and you are out. We aren't thinking about that at the moment though, we are just concentrating on winning
every game."

"You realise what it means for players to play in the cup final, and also for the fans – we haven't been in a Cup final for four years, it would be nice to make it two finals this season! I still get the buzz from the magic of the cup. That'll never change,"