Tranmere captain and Manchester City fanatic Scott Davies on facing Manchester United: 'I’ll have my City underwear on'

It means that little bit more to Scott Davies to be playing against Manchester United. The Tranmere Rovers captain is a fanatical Manchester City fan and will dig out his lucky blue pants to prepare for what he hopes will be an FA Cup giantkilling on Sunday afternoon.

Davies was at Old Trafford nine years ago when City won 6-1 to start the shift in power and that is his lasting memory when it comes to United, so there will be no sympathy about adding to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s problems.

The 32-year-old speaks honestly about lower-league players getting their chance against the big teams in the Cup but there is an added factor when playing against United.

“It was 20 years of my childhood and a teenager of absolute torture but the last 10 years have been great,” Davies said. “They always looked down on Manchester City but now it has turned around quickly.

“If my football club can have another influence on them having another bad day, then great.

“I was at the 6-1 and there were 40,000 empty seats. It was a great day for me and my old man, who has been going for 30 years and is a huge supporter. There is a big hatred for United in the family but on Sunday it will be professional.”

The magic of the Cup is alive and well for Davies. After coming back from a three-goal deficit in the third round tie against Watford at Vicarage Road, Tranmere beat Nigel Pearson’s men 2-1 in Thursday night’s replay.

Davies has played in more important games as he helped Morecambe, Fleetwood and Tranmere earn promotion into the Football League, yet the Cup offers the chance of glory for players down the pyramid.

“I’m a realist now,” Davies said. “I probably won’t reach the top level now. If I do, I’d be absolutely made up about it. I still work hard and I still want to play as high as I can for as long as I can. I play football where I play my football.

“These occasions are huge for me personally, the memories I’ll take with me for life when I’m working or doing whatever I’m doing in 20 years’ time. I’ll look back and say I played against Manchester United in the FA Cup fourth round. You cannot take that away from me.

“These are big moments in your life. I’ll remember them for the rest of my life and so will my family, so will my kids. It’s also a game I want to win.”

Davies says his team-mates have learnt from last season’s 7-0 defeat when they hosted Tottenham in the third round.

“Hopefully this time around we’ll play the occasion better. As good as Tottenham were, there were parts that disappoint me, looking back,” Davies said.

“We went into the second half and people thought the match was done. If you came off the pitch being beaten 2-0 or 3-0 against a Tottenham team flying high in the league you would have probably accepted it. The way the game went, it was almost as if they had their spirit broken but we showed against Watford what can happen when your spirit stays there.

“If you stay in the game you have a better chance of taking good memories away of the game. Unfortunately for me I just take bad memories but hopefully I’ll turn that around.”

The pitch at Prenton Park, which is heavily sanded with bare patches, could be a factor. It could be a leveller as fitness for League One players is not a problem these days and they should be able to keep pace with United.

“They get a lot more than we get but we are aiming for the same standards. They are just special, special individuals at the top level. In a physicality sense we’re as fit as each other, so we have to make sure we show our fitness levels,” Davies said.

“We don’t want to just compete, we want to win as we did against Watford. You would have given us no chance against a Premier League team but we put a game plan together and it worked.”

And to pull off another upset, this time against United, could not be any sweeter for Davies given his family background.

“I’ll have my City underwear on. It would be unbelievable to get a result. I’ve already had text messages along those lines,” he said. “People have been saying the Cup’s dead, haven’t they? You only have to look around these parts to see that it’s not.”

But, as for United being a spent force, he added: “Let’s be honest, I’d take their struggles. They are struggling for Manchester United’s standards but they are still in the top tiers of the Premier League and still have riches beyond our wildest dreams. They are still a force and will be long into the future.”