Tony Mowbray admits seeing Ron Atkinson's West Brom shock Manchester United inspired him to take charge at the Hawthorns.

If any one result helped ex-Albion boss Atkinson land the job as Dave Sexton's successor at Old Trafford, it was that five-goal demolition of the Reds in December 1978.

And it is still etched in Mowbray's memory.

He said: "I can remember watching Cyrille Regis rampaging through United's defence, with Laurie Cunningham a wizard on the wing and Bryan Robson in the engine-room.

"Maybe that is part of the reason I came here.

"If we were to beat United this time, it would stick in the minds of today's fans for the rest of their lives.

"With due respect, football has moved on a bit over the last 30 years and United are in a different stratosphere now - not just from our football club but from most clubs.

"What a challenge for our players, though. We've beaten Fulham and Middlesbrough in our last two games without conceding a goal and are going there expecting to give them a tough game."