Undaunted Strachan aims high

Middlesborough v Manchester City:GORDON STRACHAN will head into FA Cup battle today hoping the competition can provide the foundation for a new promotion push. The 52-year-old won the trophy as a player with Manchester United in 1985, and guided Southampton to the 2003 final, only to lose 1-0 to Arsenal, during his time as manager.

Strachan, who had earlier tasted Scottish FA Cup success three times as a player at Aberdeen, faces a daunting task this weekend if he is to steer Championship Middlesbrough past Premier League big spenders Manchester City. However, having sampled the magic of the game’s oldest domestic knockout competition in the past, he is relishing another crack at it as he attempts to find an antidote to his side’s faltering league campaign.

The Scot said: “It’s good fun. I have a lot of good memories – but sad ones as well. I have enjoyed it, I have been all right in cup ties. It’s a huge game. We want to win because winning makes you feel better about yourself, that’s for sure, so I want to win.”

Strachan heads into the tie with his small squad having been significantly depleted by the return of loan-signing Dave Kitson to Stoke, while midfielder Isaiah Osbourne is ineligible under the conditions of his temporary move from Aston Villa.

In addition, striker Leroy Lita is suspended and Jeremie Aliadiere, David Wheater and Emanuel Pogatetz are among a series of men fighting to shake off knocks. However, Marcus Bent on Thursday sealed his return to the Riverside Stadium on loan from Birmingham for another 16 days to ease the manager’s woes slightly.

By contrast, new City boss Roberto Mancini will have an embarrassment of riches at his disposal. City are flying high in fifth place the Premier League table, while Boro slipped to 11th in the Championship as a result of their 2-1 defeat at Barnsley on Monday.

Both men are trying to stamp their mark upon the squads they inherited from their predecessors, but Strachan insists it is not they who will be in competition today. He said: “There’s a lot made about coaches and I see different systems and see this and that – it all boils down to players. There’s a lot made of different coaches – I would feel the same about facing Mark Hughes’ Manchester City as I would Roberto’s because both have proved themselves in the management game.”

Mancini has wasted little time in setting very public targets for his team, even suggesting a title tilt this season may not be beyond them. Strachan’s overriding objective is to restore the Teessiders to the top flight, and while the pressures on both may be different, they are nonetheless weighty.

The Scot said: “How do you cope with it? You learn as you get older. It’s harder to deal with high-pressure jobs when you are a young manager, but you learn how to deal with it the longer you stay in the game.”

Just what team Mancini fields remains to be seen, although such is the depth of his squad Strachan knows his men will be up against it. He said: “If they (Boro) play like they did in the first half and have the composure they did at Barnsley (on Monday), then I am all right with that.”