Portsmouth fear they will be deprived of much of their famously raucous support in the FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester United on March 8.

Pompey, twice knocked out of the competition by United in recent years and still with painful memories of a 2-0 Premier League beating at Old Trafford three weeks ago, have taken an initial allocation of just 3,800 tickets for the tie which kicks off at 12.45pm due to television coverage.

Although there is sure to be a demand for more - under Football Association regulations the visitors are allowed a maximum of 9,000 - the south coast club are casting a circumspect eye on the situation.

Chief executive Peter Storrie told the Portsmouth News: "We have to judge the levels of interest. We can't be left with thousands of unsold tickets because Manchester United tickets aren't cheap and we could take a big hit."