Nemanja Vidic has warned that a Man City side without Carlos Tevez could be even more dangerous.
Red Devils ace sees no reason to leave
Nemanja Vidic has warned that a Manchester City side without Carlos Tevez could be even more dangerous.
As the red and blue halves of Manchester gear up for a mouth-watering FA Cup semi-final clash, Vidic has his eyes firmly set on preventing his opponents from getting past him - and that means with star striker Tevez out through injury, that man is most likely to be Edin Dzeko.
The Red Devils centre-half admits his approach to every game is to see his next opponent as being the 'best player in the world' and at times substitutes who come on can be more difficult to face.
"Sometimes it can happen that you come up against a great player but the guy on the bench, in reserve, with the hunger to score a goal and show his ability can be more difficult to keep quiet than the top class player everyone is speaking about," he told
The Times.
"That's why I always approach a game by thinking that my next opponent is the best player in the world. And for me, Dzeko is now the best player in the world. That's my mentality.
Best player
"It's not about, 'Oh Tevez doesn't play, now it's an easy job'. No.
"Dzeko is the best player in the world at the moment in my eyes. I'm just thinking that they want to play against me and score and I must give everything to stop them.
"Every team that plays Manchester United comes on to the pitch and says, 'This is my time'."
Despite the extensive coverage surrounding the Manchester derby, the 29-year-old simply sees the tie as being yet another big game.
"I think to play for United, no-one has to remind you how big, not just the City game is but every next game," said the Serbian stalwart.
Expectations
"It's the way for this club - you are challenging for four trophies every year. It's normal. At this club we have expectations to win everything."
Vidic has struck up a formidable partnership alongside Rio Ferdinand for United since his transfer from Spartak Moscow in 2006, and despite uncertainty surrounding his future with Real Madrid and Barcelona hot in pursuit, the lionheart of Old Trafford believes there is no reason to leave.
He added: "When you come to this point after so many successes at a club, you have to ask, why should you leave?
"The reception I've had from United fans especially and the experience I've had here, it's hard to change to go anywhere else."
