Jaap Stam has admitted that he is hoping to receive a "warm welcome" from Manchester United fans when taking current club Reading to Old Trafford in the FA Cup this weekend.
The Dutchman spent three years with the Red Devils during his playing days and lifted the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League as part of the famous 1999 treble-winning squad.
Stam, who has guided Reading into playoff contention in his maiden managerial campaign on English soil, believes that he is still well regarded by United supporters despite leaving under controversial circumstances at the time.
"I'm not expecting anything [from the match], to be fair," he told reporters. "It would be nice to have a warm welcome. I had a great time over there. I've loved the fans, the club.
"It was a very important period in my career. I haven't been back in an occasion like this. So it's good to be back, it's good to play over there. But it's not about me, it's about the team goes there and hopefully we can be a surprise."
Stam was sold to Serie A side Lazio in 2001 after criticising manager Sir Alex Ferguson in his book, but Ferguson later revealed that the no-nonsense defender was offloaded simply for footballing reasons.
Daniel Lewis
