ROBBIE MUSTOE, Middlesbrough's longest-serving player and one of their unsung heroes, is refusing to be intimidated by the looming prospect of FA Cup semi-final combat with the prodigious midfield talents of Arsenal's Patrick Vieira.

The unassuming Mustoe has spent almost 12 years on Teesside but rarely faced such a formidable challenge as the one which awaits him at Old Trafford on Sunday.

With skipper Paul Ince suspended, Mustoe must take up the mantle of midfield enforcer against the imposing figure of French World Cup winner Vieira.

Having served Boro so loyally, Mustoe admits that helping the club win the first major trophy in their 126-year history would give him "the ultimate'' satisfaction.

England coach Steve McClaren, who replaced Bryan Robson as manager last summer, has made Mustoe a mainstay of his side, and the 33-year-old midfielder revealed that he is ready to pledge himself to at least one more season with the club when his contract runs out at the end of this term.

Mustoe can enhance his claims to an extended deal by making life awkward for Arsenal linchpin Vieira.

He insisted: "Vieira is one of the best and it's a pleasure to play against top players like him and Roy Keane.

"Vieira is very calm on the ball and we'll try to ruffle his feathers and get stuck into him.

"I don't think we can let Arsenal play football around us too easily - we've got to get into their boots and try to win the ball off them.

"Midfield is going to be a key area and I'm certainly ready for the challenge.

"I've enoyed playing with Incey this season and Jon Greening has come in to the club and done well.

"Incey has a presence and when he's not playing I do feel more responsibility.

"But this has probably one of the happiest seasons I've had at the club.

"It would be the ultimate to be part of the team that wins the first major trophy for the club and gets into Europe.

"It would be the icing on the cake for me after 12 great years here; the fans are desperate for a trophy and so is everybody at the club. It would be magnificent.

"I'm still talking about a new contract, but there's a willingness on both sides for me to stay next year.

"They've offered me another year and obviously I plan on staying for another year at least.''

Mustoe, whose 87 appearances in Cup football are the most by a Boro player, has featured in every round of this season's FA Cup run, as he did in 1997 when he captained the side at Old Trafford in the semi-final with Chesterfield, which ended 3-3 after extra-time before the Teessiders won the replay 3-0 at Hillsborough.

"It was probably the highlight of my career, being captain at Old Trafford,'' said Mustoe, who lasted only 28 minutes of the 2-0 Wembley final defeat by Chelsea, when he succumbed to injury.

"The semi-final is such a one-off occasion that you just have to give it your best shot.

"You never know what's going to happen in a game like this - look at that Chesterfield game five years ago.''

Mustoe proved a bargain £375,000 Colin Todd signing from Oxford, where he played alongside current boss McClaren.

"I played with the manager for one or two years at Oxford,'' recalled Mustoe. "He was a good senior pro who looked after himself well, and he was technically a very good player.

"I didn't think that him coming here as manager would mean there'd be any favours for me, but I felt that under him everybody had a chance.

"When Terry Venables came in last season, I didn't play a lot. I was in the team when he came, then I was ill around Christmas and he kept a settled side after that.

"I just wanted to give it another go under the new manager and I've always had a lot of confidence in what I can do.

"I look after myself well, train hard and I'm naturally quite fit. I feel important to the team and the squad at the moment.

"We've played 4-4-2 this season, which has been enjoyable because we haven't played that system for a long time. Robson nearly always played five at the back.

"The club feels very strong, very organised and very professional. I do believe the club is in safe hands now.

"We were struggling last season and the club seemed fragile and not sure of its future.

"But the club has moved on and the chairman, Steve Gibson, has to take massive credit for bringing the club forward.

"We've got state-of-the-art training facilities and five years ago we had no training facilities.

"Fabrizio Ravanelli was here then and commented on that, but if he came back he'd be very impressed with the set-up we've got now.'

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