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Sir Alex Ferguson is confident Manchester United's anti-Glazer' faction will set aside their grievances to cheer his side to victory against AC Milan at Old Trafford tonight.
It has been a notable few days in the battle for United ownership, with Ferguson furiously denying he had expressed a willingness to join the Red Knights' if they were to wrest control of the club out of the hands of the current American owners.
The Manchester United Supporters' Trust have recorded huge rises in membership, beyond 120,000, with the green and gold scarves now such a notable feature of Red Devils' matches.
The fans feel the Americans have burdened Old Trafford with far too much debt and want a change.
Ferguson knows they will be in evidence again tonight, as United bid to defend a 3-2 first-leg, last-16 Champions League lead and reach the quarter-finals for the fourth season on the trot.
However, the Scot believes suggestions for fans to delay entry into the stadium for 10 minutes as a sign of protest will not have any effect and he feels there will be a strong sense of unity as United aim to overcome the seven-times winners.
“The fans won't do that,” said Ferguson of the rumoured protests. “It is too important a game.
“Old Trafford will be rocking and I am sure whether they are wearing the traditional red and white or the protest green and gold scarves the supporters will be united and speaking with one voice to get us safely through.”
Wayne Rooney is expected to play after recovering from a knee injury that kept him out of Saturday's win at Wolves but Ferguson is not so sure that David Beckham will be granted the homecoming he craves.
Beckham has not started a match since the first leg for Milan and may have to be content with a place on the bench in his first club match back at Old Trafford since he left United seven years ago.
“I am finding it difficult to pick their team but I don't know whether Beckham will start,” said Ferguson.
“I have not got that down in my conclusions about their team. He has not started a game since the first leg, so it is difficult to say what impact he will have on the game.
“But he will be there and the one thing you have to be aware of is his delivery of the ball, which is still fantastic. That is the threat.
“There are a lot of threats in their team, of course, but we are well aware of David's.”
Meanwhile, Franck Ribery believes Bayern Munich's dramatic progression to the Champions League quarter-finals at the expense of Fiorentina last night underlines the unity in the ranks at the Bundesliga club.
Bayern's Dutch connection secured the aggregate win, with goals Mark van Bommel and Arjen Robben not enough to avert a 3-2 loss on the night but sufficient to see the Germans progress on away goals at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
Qualification to the last eight of the Champions League will go a long way towards convincing Ribery to extend his contract at the Allianz Arena and the France international was in upbeat mood after the result.
“It was very important for us to go through,” he said.
“We knew that it was not going to be an easy game and the weather didn't help us either, particularly in the first half when it was very tough.
“We showed a great team performance with a lot of solidarity.”
