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Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted to focus on football once again as a young Manchester United side avoided any slip-ups in their FA Cup fourth round win at Northampton on Sunday.
Ferguson was delighted that United avoided an embarrassing upset as he fielded a team bereft of several first-choice stars that was still too good for the Third Division Cobblers.
The United boss may have been concerned when Northampton keeper Lee Harper kept out Diego Forlan's first-half penalty, but the Uruguayan was on hand to wrap up a 3-0 victory after Mikael Silvestre's 37th-minute opener and an unfortunate own goal by Chris Hargreaves three minutes into the second period.
"There is a worry about the banana skin," said a relieved Ferguson afterwards. "They hit the bar after half-time and for a two or three-minute spell they had us on the rack for a bit. We had to scramble a couple of balls clear. This was their big day.
"I was thinking of Scarborough, but in fairness we did really well. It's good for young players. Maybe there will come a time when they play in a cup tie and this experience will help them.
"The more they play together the better they get. David Bellion is a young man and this will have helped him," Ferguson said. "Cristiano Ronaldo was the main player. He was terrific and for a lad of 18 was outstanding."
Ferguson admitted that he would love to go all the way in a competition United have struggled in since lifting the trophy as part of their 1999 treble.
"I certainly hope so. We are due a run," he suggested. "You can never be certain about any trophy in the English game - you have to earn it - but the FA Cup is a very important trophy."
He is also hoping that the man who skippered the youngsters on Sunday, Nicky Butt, will still be at the club next weekend, despite the bids which are likely to come in for him this week.
"I know he is frustrated and I know it is difficult for him because he has the European Championships coming up for England in the summer," Ferguson said. "I understand all these things but it will still be disappointing if he does go."
Cobblers boss Colin Calderwood admitted that United had been the better team on the day, but insisted that he was still proud of his players: "Manchester United can be too good for teams in their own league sometimes, so we can be proud of our efforts. What disappointed me was we weren't beaten by special goals," he lamented. "The first two were really scrappy and could have been prevented.
"I hope my team learn some lessons about movement, both on and off the ball. United keep things simple and their passing is very quick. At some stage in the competition we were bound to meet a team that had too much class for us, and they were probably it."
United landed a home draw against either their Manchester rivals or Tottenham Hotspur in the fifth round, which also saw Arsenal paired with Chelsea, Liverpool drawn against Portsmouth, Birmingham given a trip to Sunderland and Everton or Fulham pitted against Wolves conquerors West Ham. The fifth round ties will be played on February 14th and 15th.
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