Paul Clement has described Derby County’s Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round tie against Manchester United on Friday evening as ‘a great challenge’.
After overcoming Sky Bet League 2 Hartlepool United in the Third Round of the competition earlier this month, the Rams will face Louis van Gaal’s Barclays Premier league giants at the iPro Stadium tomorrow night (7:55pm kick-off).
Both Derby and United occupy fifth place in their respective divisions and Clement is excited about the prospect of welcoming one of the world’s biggest clubs to Derbyshire.
Derby harbour hopes of being in the Premier League alongside United next season and the Rams’ Head Coach is looking forward to the game.
He told Rams Player HD: “What a challenge this is for us to play one of the biggest clubs in world football.
“We want to play in the Premier League and it will be nice to put ourselves up against world class players and a fantastic coach too in Louis van Gaal.
“I saw United play last weekend against Southampton and they had a difficult afternoon, losing 1-0, but it is easy to forget they went away to their biggest rivals in the domestic game in Liverpool and won by the same scoreline the week before.
“They are an outstanding side and we will have to be at our very, very best on Friday.
He added: “We’re playing before a global audience as well with it being on the BBC.
“It’s going to be great for our football club to be exposed to millions of viewers across the world.”
Van Gaal is one of the most decorated coaches in world football having been in the hotseat at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Ajax, as well as two stints in charge of the Dutch national side.
Clement is looking forward to competing against the Dutchman again after meeting him once previously, when he was on the coaching staff at Real Madrid.
“I have come across Louis once before when I was at Real Madrid, we played against United in a pre-season game in Michigan before the 2014/15 season,” he said.
“There were 110,000 people there which was the biggest-ever attendance for a US soccer game.
“Louis has managed at some of the biggest clubs in the world and I am looking forward to coming up against him, and Ryan Giggs, again.”
Clement’s side are five games without a win in the Championship and the 44-year-old says every effort is being made to turn recent results around.
Despite an encouraging first-half display at Burnley on Monday night, Derby went down 4-1 and Clement says his squad must pick themselves up quickly.
He feels a cup tie against a Premier League outfit is a game to relish and he wants everyone associated with the club to enjoy the occasion.
He said: “It’s clear that results aren’t going our way at the moment but we are working extremely hard to make that change.
“We are due some fortune and in order to make that happen we have to make sure we are putting in a performance.
“The first half performance at Burnley was encouraging and there were a lot of positives coming in at half time, but obviously the two penalties early in the half turned the game in Burnley’s favour.
“If we can build on the positives and perform like we did in the first half then positive results will follow.
“We have to pick ourselves up; it was tough to take losing how we did on Monday and now we want a big response and a good challenge against a top side.”
He added: “Confidence is such a big thing for individuals and the team as well.
“It is a great occasion for the club and this is a game that we should go out and enjoy.
“The club hasn’t had a fixture against Manchester United for a number of years now.
“I want us to go and put in a performance and enjoy the night.”
