Yesterday's FA Cup fifth round draw, which paired Sheffield United with Gareth Southgate's side, means Robson must beat the team he led to the 1997 final at Wembley if his dream of lifting the trophy for a fourth time is to stay alive when the two clubs meet at Bramall Lane next month.

Sunday's 2-1 victory over Manchester City brought some much-needed light relief to the 51-year-old who has been forced to contend with threats of a ground boycott and calls for him to be sacked just eight months after arriving in South Yorkshire as supporters voice their dissatisfaction at United's poor performances in the Championship.

Buoyed by another impressive result over Premiership opposition - United beat Bolton Wanderers at the third round stage - Robson remains convinced that, given time, he can win hearts and minds on the terraces.

Is progress in the FA Cup an unnecessary distraction for the Blades? Post your comments below.

But, as he prepared for tonight's fixture with third-placed Watford, the former England captain acknowledged that only another league win will prevent more pressure from being heaped upon his shoulders.

"It's not about winning them over," said Robson, referring to his brittle relationship with United fans. "It's about giving them something to shout about and believe in. That's what we want to do.

"We owed them one after being beaten in the derby last time out and hopefully we did that against City but we've got to build on that now.

"Since the turn of the year I don't think we've been in too bad form and we've got some decent results but we did let ourselves down badly in that one match.

"If we can overcome Watford then hopefully it will be the start of another good run because, after this, we're up against two teams from the bottom of the table (Colchester and Scunthorpe)."

Robson added: "I've still got plenty of friends at Boro who I keep in touch with so it'll be nice to bring them down here.

"But it's also an interesting draw because it gives us a chance to progress."

United start this evening's game in 14th position, nine points behind the play-off positions and with concerns over the fitness of Luton Shelton (groin) and Jon Stead (back and hip) whose first-half goals put City to the sword.

Defender Derek Geary is also a doubt after sustaining a knock at the weekend but Rob Hulse and Matthew Kilgallon are both expected to be restored after being rested.

Robson, who revealed Geoff Horsfield has re-opened talks with Scunthorpe, will hope the visit of Middles brough does not affect his bid to persuade Southgate to allow midfielder Lee Cattermole to join United on loan but with several of his own players being linked with moves elsewhere before Thursday's transfer deadline, he indicated he would prefer departures to be limited to fringe members of his squad.

READ MORE

NEWS: Blades fans may have seen chef killers

Sheffield man whose balloons helped United is a City fan! Click here.

Lane legend gives fan super send-off

More Blades.

Football headlines.

Football gossip.

More Owls.

More Spireites.

More Rovers.

More Reds.

More Millers.

More rugby.

More boxing.

Sports columnists.

All sport categories