Gibson still seduced by the romance of the Cup

The FA Cup may have lost its allure to some, but Darron Gibson of Manchester United said the world's oldest club competition remains special for him.

After starting Tuesday's Premier League win over Stoke City, Gibson is hoping to retain his place for today's third-round clash at home to Liverpool. As well as the chance to beat their bitter rivals, United are hoping to atone for a wretched performance 12 months ago.

Gibson was part of the side defeated by a Leeds United team playing two divisions below them. "The FA Cup is magic," Gibson said. "It is a massive competition which I have watched since I was no age at all. It does mean a lot to me." The Irish player still squirms at what went wrong against Leeds.

"It was hard to take that defeat last year," he said. "The rivalry between Leeds and Manchester United is massive. We didn't do too well. Obviously, we lost but we simply didn't play well enough."