Dad's won it all, it's my go now, says Ferguson Jnr

United went on to beat Crystal Palace in the final. The legend is not strictly true, according to Ferguson's son Darren, but he accepts the sentiment.

Pressure was mounting and the win was a huge relief for the family. 'I know for a fact that it wouldn't have been his last game,' said Darren.

'But he couldn't have kept losing games. If you keep losing games at United it is inevitable what will happen. It wasn't a nice time and that was a big break for him.'

Today it is the turn of Ferguson junior to seek an injection of FA Cup magic to boost his ambitious Peterborough team as they tackle Championship leaders West Bromwich Albion in the fourth round.

Promotion from League Two is the priority for a club whose millionaire owner Darragh MacAnthony wants to be in the Barclays Premier League within seven years.

Ferguson, 35, marked his first anniversary as Posh boss this month with an 8-2 demolition of Accrington Stanley and is building a team based on an attacking football philosophy which may be genetic.

Ferguson junior thinks like a manager and has done for years. He grew up in that environment and, as if to prove it, points out that Tuesday's 'six-pointer' against Rotherham is far more important than today's sellout tie against Albion.

'I was actually offered the manager's job at Wrexham when I was 30,' said Darren, as he searches for the moment his mind transformed from playing to managing.

'Brian Flynn was going upstairs and the plan was for me to take over at the end of the season, but unfortunately Brian left the club.

'I might have been too young and got my fingers burned, but even then I thought about it.'

Fatherly advice taught him to retain good and bad points from his managers. Graham Taylor at Wolves and Flynn at Wrexham were positive influences, but what about Dad?

'Well, he's not perfect is he?' smiled Darren. 'But I have to say most of the things I learned from him were good things.'

As a young player at Manchester United, Darren was frustrated by the relationship — when dropping him from the team was the easy option.

'Everyone can see what sort of a man he is and he was never going to be that kind to me,' said Darren.

'At times he went over the mark on the other side. He knows that.

'It was one of the reasons I left, but the main one was that I wasn't playing. Also, my Dad wasn't in the position he is now. He didn't have the power he has now; he hadn't won nine League titles.

'I knew the pressure he was under, so I didn't want to go and knock his door down.'

The family name remains an issue. Sir Alex is always on the end of a phone with advice on, for example, how to handle West Bromwich's former United midfielder Jonathan Greening.

But pitfalls include endless comparisons with the greatest British manager in modern football and snide remarks that every deal you strike is the result of a favour someone owes to your Dad.

Darren said: 'It's an advantage to a son to have a father who has done so well, but no doors have opened for me. It's probably been the other way. There are disadvantages.

'You need luck and I got a bit by getting this job. It's up to you how you do.

'If you win enough games, you'll do well. If you don't, you're out of the door. Just because I'm his son won't change that.'

Thanks to his father, Darren quickly realised the crux of management was making tough calls and getting them right.

'It's easy to say now but I always felt he would get it right at United,' he said.

'He had great determination and didn't let anything faze him. One thing he does better than anyone is make decisions that are right for the club and not the individual.

'He's made some amazing decisions getting rid of players but it's always been the right one.

'I was in the 16 for the Cup Winners' Cup Final and he bombed me out, which was nice of him. That killed me a little bit, but there you go. That's what I mean about decisions.'

Darren's first big call as a player-manager was to stop playing immediately. 'I couldn't concentrate,' he said, although injuries in midfield almost forced him to consider a comeback today.

Ferguson will be on the touchline at London Road, trying to plot a Cup shock and land a fifth-round draw away at Old Trafford.

'Hopefully it will happen at some stage,' he said. 'I'd be happier for my players.

'I'd be able to relax and enjoy it and my Mum would support Peterborough, without a doubt. Yeah, it would be Peterborough. He's won enough!'