Schneiderlin: We Have To Be Ruthless

Now in his eighth campaign in English football, French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has never ventured beyond the last-eight round in its most famous knock-out competition, the Emirates FA Cup.

Naturally he's hoping to rectify that this year by going all the way to Wembley and, ultimately, winning the trophy with Manchester United. But before he can do that, he must help the Reds negotiate tonight [Monday]'s fifth-round clash at Shrewsbury Town from League One - a tier he spent two seasons in with Southampton.

Here's what Schneiderlin had to say in an exclusive pre-match interview with MUTV...

You've been playing in England for almost eight years now, so have you come to appreciate the stature of the FA Cup?
Yes, of course. Ever since my first year with Southampton, I have been aware of the FA Cup's importance. I have never been able to go further than the quarter-finals but it's a competition that I want to win. It's one of the biggest trophies in England and we want to bring it to Manchester United this year. We want to win everything we can.

What's it like to play against a lower-division side like Shrewsbury Town?
Well, they are the hardest games. It's harder than it is to play against Arsenal and Chelsea because, for the opposition players, it's the game of their season. Every challenge they make, they give 100 per cent and every tackle they make is celebrated by their fans as if it was a goal. It's nice for them while, for us, we have to take it very seriously, show good professionalism and win it.

Does your attitude and fighting spirit have to match theirs?
Yes, it has to be the same or even better because we can't have a bad result. That possibility is not even entering our heads. We want to win and we want to respect them. Respecting them means we take the game very seriously. To win, we have to be ruthless and show no pity, it's as simple as that.

How important is it to win this competition, or the Europa League, or both?
Our approach to every competition is to try to win it. We can't choose between games, we have to prepare for each game we play in. We are going through difficult times in the Premier League but this competition can give us a lift to get back to the good work and get back to business in the league.