READING boss Jaap Stam hopes he will get a warm reception from Manchester United fans despite his abrupt exit from the club 16 years ago.
The Royals face the Premier League club in the third round at Old Trafford this afternoon having faced them twice in the competition in the last 10 years.
Stam made 127 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils between 1998 and 2001, which included winning the FA Cup in his first season, but he left in controversial circumstances.
The Dutchman recalled in his autobiography that Alex Ferguson, then United’s manager, met him at a petrol station, got in his car and told him he had to be transferred.
It was suggested at the time that Stam’s exit was inevitable after comments he made in an earlier book.
Ferguson and the club strongly denied that at the time, insisting it was purely a football decision to sell him to Lazio, but the Scot did admit in 2013 it had been a mistake to let Stam go.
Speaking about facing United, Stam said: “Hopefully (the Manchester United fans) support me on Saturday – I’ve heard they still sing my song.
“It tells you something in how I performed when I was there and the relationship I had with the fans.
“I’ve never been back in a proper game – I’ve been back for the games we played for Soccer Aid – but it’ll be good to be back in front of the United fans in a situation like this.
“But it’s not an opportunity to say a proper goodbye to them, because hopefully I’ll be back again as a manager coming up against them in the future.”
Even aside from the United connection, Stam sees it as a chance for his Premier League hopefuls to go up against one of the country’s top clubs.
“It’s always nice for a manager and his team to play against teams like Manchester United to see what you can do, what you are capable of,” he said.
“Then you can see where you can improve as a player and how the team can be better going into the second half of the season.
He said: “He (Mourinho) is the type of manager who wants to win the league, the Champions League, the FA Cup, everything. That’s what I like about him.
“Everyone always looks forward to games like these. We want to show ourselves at Old Trafford against a side like Manchester United.
“We believe in ourselves. We believe we can do something. But that doesn’t make it any easier when you’re up against a team like United.”
