Defoe is the danger as United fan fire of desire

In the dark days of November, when player after player was being ripped from his side through injury and Manchester City had submitted those left to a most dreadful ignominy, Sir Alex Ferguson might not have welcomed a reminder about the talents of Jermain Defoe.

The 20-year-old's three goals against Manchester United in the last two seasons include the strike – from a good pace offside at Upton Park – which pinched a draw, left Sir Alex's side fifth – nine points adrift of Arsenal – on 16 November, and reduced the manager to some apocalyptic ruminations. "This team have stayed together for seven, eight, nine years and we wonder whether the continual battles they go through eventually wear them down," he said at the time.

It seems that winning six games out of seven can have a wonderfully restorative effect on a manager's appreciation of opposition threats such as Defoe, whom United will encounter once again in this afternoon'sFA Cup fourth-round tie at Old Trafford.

"Thanks for mentioning him," Sir Alex said with heavy irony when Defoe – whom he evidently considers to be a bit special – came up in conversation at United's Carrington training HQ. "He'll be a top goalscorer. He scored against us last season in the League game and this year," he added "... but it was offside. Put that down please." Some misfortunes are harder to brush away.

Wednesday's Worthington Cup semi-final success at Blackburn, which propelled United to a mouthwatering encounter with Liverpool in Cardiff on 2 March, has prompted talk of a "quadruple" in some of Manchester's red enclaves. It hardly rolls off the tongue quite like the word "treble", but Sir Alex isn't exactly quashing the idea. It was talk of the volume of football associated with such an achievement – not his side's potential actually to notch it up – that he was most anxious to dispel.

"We're not in four tournaments, we're only in three," he said. "In the Worthington Cup we've [only] got a final, which is always a pleasurable experience, whichever way you look at it. So we don't look upon that as being the road to three tournaments."

His new-found bon esprit is born of the fruits of the calculated gamble he took by putting his key players through important operations in early- to mid-season, in the hope that there would be something left for them to win when they returned to the side.

Roy Keane's hip, Nicky Butt's ankle, Paul Scholes's knee, Wes Brown's ankle and Rio Ferdinand's knee have cost him dear. Yet Butt's 15-minute run-out against Blackburn in midweek restored the last of the quintet to the squad, and consequently Ferguson believes his team have "more in the tank" at this time of the season than any United side he has presided over. "You can't win games in the last minute, as we've done in the last few weeks, without having that great desire to do it. The satisfying part for me is we are seeing a team that's rekindled all its great desires again," he said.

A more unexpected consequence of United's League travails has been a desire to lay hands on any silverware going – and they are certainly out of the habit, having failed to reach a final since the Treble-winning spring of 1999.

United's 3-0 home League win over West Ham last month might put them into today's game as comfortable favourites, but there is still no forgetting the sides' Old Trafford Cup meeting – almost two years ago to the day – when Fabien Barthez famously tried to trick Paolo Di Canio out of firing home the winner – and failed. West Ham went through to the next round, where they beat Sunderland before losing at home to Spurs in the sixth round.

The continued absence of the talismanic Di Canio, who is now close to full fitness, has been a major problem for Glenn Roeder, who signed Les Ferdinand on a free transfer from Spurs ahead of last Wednesday's 4-2 defeat at Charlton. Ferdinand, who joined his cousin Anton – Rio Ferdinand's brother – in East London, was not signed in time to play at Old Trafford and complete the family connection today.

Of course, Roeder does have Defoe, who is carrying the attacking burden in the absence of both Di Canio and Frédéric Kanouté. He scored two goals and made another for Joe Cole in the 3-2 defeat of Nottingham Forest in the third round.

But, ominously, Sir Alex boasts a "new" striking sensation of his own – Paul Scholes, who equalled his season's best tally of 14 goals by scoring twice against Blackburn and has up to 20 games left to better it. "That brain of his," marvelled Ferguson as he discussed the restored goalscoring dimension which he believes will make Scholes – currently in the form of his life – into the Cantona he had always predicted the player would be. Scholes has now scored seven goals in his last six matches.

Today's tie will be followed by a relaying of the Old Trafford pitch, which Sir Alex considered "dire" in the first leg against Blackburn and recent Premiership games. He wants it in shape for the Manchester City rematch on 9 February, when there will be some of November's misdemeanours to atone for.