BLACKBURN boss Mark Hughes has warned his players to expect a backlash from Manchester United tomorrow when the two clubs collide in the Carling Cup at Ewood Park.

Sir Alex Ferguson's Reds have been heavily criticised after they failed to beat non-league Burton Albion in the FA Cup at the weekend.

And Hughes fears that stinging criticism could provoke an angry response from the Reds, who are under increasing pressure to win a trophy after crashing out of Europe and all but conceding the Premiership title to Chelsea.

"Invariably, you get a response from Manchester United when people feel that a performance and a result isn't what is expected of them," said Hughes.

"They've done it many, many times over many, many seasons and when people start lining up to fire barbed comments at the club or Sir Alex then that's when you usually get a response.

"But we are not going into this tie with any apprehension.

"I think we've got a real opportunity here. We are playing well and, confidence wise, we couldn't be in better shape so I see no reason why we can't have a real go at getting to a major final."

Rovers are currently flying under Hughes' shrewd leadership and they go into the tie on the back of five straight wins - their best winning sequence since they won the title in 1995.

"This game is coming at a good time for us, on the back of five wins, and we would love to make it six tomorrow," said Hughes.

"When you go up against a side with the quality of United, you need to be in good shape physically and mentally and we are that at the moment.

"That's been the case since we won at Old Trafford in September. We probably surprised ourselves, and probably a lot of people at that point.

"From that game onwards we've become stronger and gained in belief in our own ability, coming to the fore in recent weeks with the winning run.

"I would say we're certainly in better shape going into this game than we were going into the game at Old Trafford.

"Up until that point we had struggled for goals and we needed to get back on track, and there was no better place to do that than Old Trafford.

"We went there and played very well, but we also rode our luck on a number of occasions, but stuck our chances away and had opportunities to score more.

"We've become a stronger and more accomplished side since that game. We know that and Manchester United know it.

"There's even the sense now that when we take to the pitch we feel we are going to win.

"That's not over-confidence, it's expectation because the players are now expecting to play well, whereas in the past they only hoped to play well."

Hughes is certainly expecting to face a much-changed United line-up to the one that was dramatically held to a goalless draw by Burton on Sunday.

With United out of the Champions League and struggling to keep pace with runaway leaders Chelsea in the Premiership, Hughes knows Ferguson's focus on the two cup competitions will be intense.

The Rovers boss added: "Every season their campaign is geared to winning trophies, and when they are in major semis they invariably reach finals.

"But we will have something to say about that. There's no reason for us to fear the opposition because we're playing exceptionally well ourselves at the moment."