IF you have anything about you as a player then the bigger game, the greater you'll relish the occasion.

And we could hardly be facing a bigger month than the one we are about to enter.

In the next four weeks, we are due to play Manchester United THREE times after yesterday's draw for the Worthington Cup semi-finals paired us together.

Oh, and just for good measure, we've also got a visit to Anfield thrown in as well as the fixture planners turn up the heat over Christmas.

To some, that sounds like a daunting schedule but these are the games you dream about playing in as a kid and as far as I'm concerned they can't come quickly enough.

I don't know what it is but whenever us and United meet, the sparks tend to fly in some capacity or other.

And you can bet your bottom dollar a referee will find himself at the heart of it all somewhere. Take last season's two games for instance. When we went head-to-head at Ewood, there was all the furore surrounding Craig Short's sending off and David Beckham's equally controversial equaliser.

Then when we went to Old Trafford for the return, there was all the fuss over Laurent Blanc's penalty award and the phantom injury time the ref decided to add on.

Let's just hope whoever emerges victorious over the next four weeks, does so fairly and squarely.

Sunday's game is going to be tough, there's no doubt about that, because United are currently on one of their famous rolls.

But we can go into the game with absolutely nothing to lose because no-one expects us to win.

Already this season, we've shown what we can do against the likes of Newcastle, Arsenal and Leeds.

And in people like Brad Friedel, Damien Duff, Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke we've got big-game performers who relish playing on the big stage.

Coley and Yorkie will be doubly determined to prove a point to Sir Alex and if they click up front then who knows what could happen.

As for the cup games, it's absolutely vital that we keep the tie alive following the first leg at Old Trafford.

We saw against Celtic the importance of nicking an away goal so if we could score at their place then we have every chance.

That's for the future, though. For now, we should be focusing on getting the points over Christmas to make life that little bit more comfortable during the second half of the season.

And what a tonic a win would be on Sunday. Bring it on!