Schneiderlin & Jones Call For Cup Focus

Louis van Gaal may well make changes for Wednesday's Capital One Cup fourth-round tie with Middlesbrough, but Manchester United pair Morgan Schneiderlin and Phil Jones insist the competition is an important one for the Reds, who will be taking the encounter against the Championship side very seriously.

After seeing off the threat of Ipswich Town in round three, van Gaal's men face more Championship opposition with high-flying Boro visiting Old Trafford.

Both Schneiderlin and Jones are expecting a tough test, with the French midfielder very keen to pick up some silverware in his debut season at United.

“The cup is something that allows every player to get an opportunity,” Schneiderlin told MUTV. “I know the manager likes to change some players and it’s very important because we are a group and everyone plays a part and does their best. We want to win this cup.

“Man United should try to win everything and that’s what we’re aiming to do. You saw when we played Ipswich that we were very serious about the competition and we want to carry that on against Middlesbrough, who are a good team. They were close to being back in the Premier League last season so it will be a hard game and we have prepared as seriously as possible.”

Middlesbrough are currently fourth in the Championship and hope to secure promotion to the Barclays Premier League this season under the management of former Real Madrid defender Aitor Karanka. Jones insists United are ready for the challenge that the visitors will pose and are focused on going far in the competition.

“Middlesbrough are a good Championship team, they have played well this season and it will be a different game for us," added the defender.

"They’re coming to Old Trafford, playing under the floodlights and it’s a massive game for them. Some players have probably never played at Old Trafford so that’s the incentive they have.

"We need to make sure we turn up and do our job. Just because they’re in the Championship doesn’t mean we’re going to win the game; we need to play well and hopefully we can win it because this is a competition we want to do well in.”