Cup Focus For Sir Alex

Sir Alex Ferguson insists the FA Cup is "an important trophy for us this season" after seeing his side secure a comfortable 4-1 win over Fulham.

Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez - twice - got on the scoresheet to ensure United's place in the fifth round, the draw for which takes places on Sunday at 17:45 GMT.

The United manager was pleased with his side's display against the Cottagers and even more delighted to see two of his strikers firing on all cylinders.

"I'm really pleased that Wayne scored and that Chicha scored two because if I get those two and Robin [van Persie] into the twenty-plus goals mark, we're definitely in business," he told MUTV and ESPN after the match.

"We picked a very strong team because we didn't want to make any slip-ups. The FA Cup is an important trophy for us this season. We haven't won it for nearly 10 years.

"The players did well and it was quite comfortable. In the first half Fulham had a lot of possession and there were a couple of squeaky moments. But all in all it was a really good performance by us."

The Reds got off the mark in the third minute from the penalty spot after Aaron Hughes' handball. And United should arguably have had a second soon after when Damien Duff clearly handled in the area.

"I think from the referee's position he obviously thought it was unintentional, but from my angle - obviously I've got the benefit of looking at the video at half-time - it was handball," added Sir Alex. "But we didn't need any decisions because the performance was good.

"We had some shots in the first half blocked, one hit the bar - we needed that second goal to put us in the comfort zone, and we got that early in the second half and then a third and fourth followed."