Gibson bewitched by cup 'magic'

After starting Tuesday's Premier League win over Stoke, Gibson is hoping to retain his place for Sunday's third-round clash with ailing Merseysiders Liverpool. Victory would mean many things. In addition to starting Kenny Dalglish's second stint as Anfield chief in the worst possible manner, United could also claim a place in the fourth round draw and atone for a wretched performance 12 months ago. Gibson was part of the side defeated by a Leeds team that was still trying to assert their authority in League One, hardly an adequate reminder of a competition that holds a special place in the 23-year-old's heart. "The FA Cup is magic," he said. "It is a massive competition which I have watched since I was no age at all. "It does mean a lot to me and I would love to win it." The Derry-born player still squirms at what went wrong against Leeds. Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted he made a mistake with his team selection, although that does not tell the complete story of a sterile performance from a group of players about whom so much more was expected. "It was hard to take that defeat last year," said Gibson. "The rivalry between Leeds and Manchester United is massive. We didn't do too well. Obviously we lost but we simply didn't play well enough." United will not be underestimating Liverpool despite their current plight. The timing of Hodgson's departure only adds to the feeling that United's long-standing rivals are a club spinning out of control, since the move presumably could have been made on Thursday. However, Dalglish has proved a thorn in United's side plenty of times before and was never afraid of taking on fellow Scot Sir Alex Ferguson in a duel, once famously declaring more sense could be gleaned from his daughter during a particularly heated exchange. It adds another dimension to a contest that is always compelling, and can quite often be explosive, on and off the pitch. "Liverpool are not doing too well at the minute and that could be a factor," said Gibson. "But the rivalry between the two clubs means the matches are always different anyway. It should be a good game. "It is good for the fans when they see other teams not playing well. "But we are just concentrating on trying to get the win. "We can't underestimate them but they are under a lot more pressure than we are at the minute and if we play well, we should beat them." That would allow United to take the first stride towards what they hope is an end to a seven-year barren run in the competition, which is actually their longest since the triumph under Tommy Docherty in 1977, the fourth of what is now a record 11 wins. It means players such as Rio Ferdinand - who was suspended when United beat Millwall at the Millennium Stadium in 2004 - Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra and Edwin van der Sar, have still to taste success in the competition. There have been a couple of losing finals, plus a semi against Everton at Wembley in 2009 when Gibson featured in a side that lost on penalties, but, largely, the cupboard is bare. "There has been a bit of banter flying round the training ground because it is the only trophy a few of the senior lads have not won," reported Gibson. "But the manager is so ambitious. He wants to win every trophy he can and it rubs off on the rest of the players. "I certainly don't want to go out in the third round again. "I have been to Wembley. It is an unbelievable experience. You want to go there for as many finals as you can and collect lots of medals. "It is definitely an incentive to get there and play in front of so many fans."