Darren Ferguson has admitted that he is relishing the prospect of coming up against Arsene Wenger when his Doncaster Rovers side face Arsenal in the EFL Cup.
The 45-year-old takes his League One side to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night for the third-round tie, aiming to emulate father Sir Alex Ferguson who regularly got one over on Wenger.
Wenger enjoyed many encounters with Sir Alex down the years, and Darren has revealed that the former Manchester United manager has given him some words of advice ahead of the match in North London.
"There's an enormous amount of respect between my dad and Arsene Wenger," he told reporters. "A huge amount of respect, they get on very, very well. Listen, they were competitive, both of them.
"They had to have that sort of competitive edge towards it when they were managing but I'm looking forward to coming up against [Wenger] is a great manager and obviously the aim is to get one over him but we know it is going to be difficult."
Asked if he has spoken to his father about the match, Ferguson Snr said: "Yeah, I speak to him at length but obviously this game as well. He's going to be there, my mother is going to be there and my family so it's good, good for everyone.
"All the lads' families will be there but, like I say, it's important we go there and put on a performance. I've been [managing] now for ten years. The longevity of both my dad and Arsene Wenger is incredible and the job he has done at Arsenal is incredible and he's still going."
Doncaster, currently 19th in the third tier, have beaten Bradford City and Hull City to make it through to the third round of the competition.
Daniel Lewis
