ON Sunday I found myself in the unusual position of actually wanting Manchester United to win a football match.

It's not something I'm going to make a habit of but there was good reason for it.

Now that the UEFA cup place for winning the Carling Cup has been denied to Wigan there will now be another place available through league placing assuming United finish in the top six.

Purely selfish I know but who cares if it helps us to achieve our European aim.

Having said all of that, I have pretty much had my fill of this Wigan fairytale that the media seem to be intent on ramming down our throats.

You know the one, small unfashionable Northern town backed by wealthy businessman/fan make it in the big time and impart a few bloody noses to the established big clubs along the way.

Yes, that's right a story along similar lines to one over a decade ago except that the other particular club had the audacity to actually win two trophies along the way, yet were rewarded with nothing but disparaging comments in the same national press that are lauding Wigan's supposed achievements.

Not that I'm bitter you understand, I can take the memories of our past successes to the grave with me, but sometimes the lack of recognition of what our great club has achieved against the odds does rankle.

However good those triumphs were, we could be stood on the threshold of an achievement, although not as big as winning the Premiership, that ranks up there in it's own way.

At this moment we sit in fifth place, three points off a coveted Champions League place and the riches that go with it.

This, after two seasons where a slide towards the abyss of lower league football and probable obscurity appeared a more realistic scenario.

Not only that, but where mountains of money had been thrown at the team in the past to help achieve any success we now find our team built on a relative shoestring with no unlimited funds or benefactor to back us.

So with that in mind, one has to salute Mark Hughes and his staff for the remarkable turnaround they've overseen. Where the ambition was once 40 points, it's now not only a UEFA cup place but a Champions League place.

All football fans live on dreams, and we've been very fortunate to live in a time when those dreams have become reality, but to be in a similar position again when all seemed lost in the latter days of the Souness era is about as much as one can ask for.

With the conquerors of Real Madrid comfortably despatched and 11 games left, who's to say that another dream can't come true. Every game can be won from now on and, although that won't happen, the feeling from all connected at Ewood is that there is a huge belief that anything is possible.

Bottle and belief were two traits that have been woefully lacking in recent years, and now under the current regime they appear to be the foundations to our success.

Strange to think that only 12 months ago we were told that the gap was closing'. Now that really was a dream!