<
>

Ashley Young hails Manchester United team spirit

play
Van Gaal looking forward to Arsenal tie (1:40)

Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal praised his side's performance after their 3-1 victory over Preston North End in the FA Cup. (1:40)

Ashley Young believes Manchester United's 3-1 comeback win against Preston is further proof of a superb team spirit that could help them win the FA Cup.

United trailed 1-0 to the League One club before substitute Young set up Ander Herrera for the equaliser and Marouane Fellaini and Wayne Rooney added further goals to set up a quarterfinal tie with Arsenal.

Louis van Gaal's team also came from behind to draw at West Ham on Feb. 8, when Daley Blind scored an injury-time equaliser, and Young feels they have the sort of belief that the United teams managed by Sir Alex Ferguson possessed.

He said: "The club has always had great spirit -- I've seen that since I've been here. All the boys in the dressing room are all fighting for each other, and when you have that off the pitch you take it on to the pitch.

"It is one of the qualities we have as a team as a whole. It was a great team effort -- every man throughout the team was fantastic. When you have that team spirit from the first whistle to the last, it can help take you through to the next round."

United have not won the FA Cup since 2004 and Young added: "We want to get back to winning ways and win this competition. We haven't won it for a few years."

After a slow start under Van Gaal, United have gone on an improved run, losing only once since the Manchester derby in early November, and Young said: "That is a great achievement."

The former Aston Villa winger, who joined United in 2011, explained his role in his influential cameo at Deepdale.

"The manager told me to go out there, get on the ball, get balls in the box and stay wide," he said. "We wanted to get ourselves back in it as quickly as possible and it happened to be that I passed it to Ander and he scored."