Howard in dreamland

"I think there is a feeling among the players that we need to make a statement in the Final; we haven't won in the Premiership or Champions League but we are really hungry for the FA Cup."

Howard does not seem the type to get too excited but admits the idea of being a barrier breaker for US sport appeals. This week, he turned on the television and chanced upon a re-run of the 1993 Cup Final replay, with fellow American John Harkes playing for Sheffield Wednesday against Arsenal.

He'd never seen this footage before but it reminded him of how the competition had first entered his radar.

As a kid, he was a fine basketball player but by the time he was 14, his similar prowess at soccer saw him drafted into the US national youth squad and Howard recalls the buzz surrounding Harkes being the first American to play in our Cup Final.

"I remember it being a big deal in America's soccer community," said Howard. Eleven years on, his story is making bigger waves, since you will find the odd American who has actually heard of Manchester United. For a country which demands winners, the outcome is also likely to be more satisfactory than in 1993 when Harkes ended up with a loser's medal.

"Make history? I hope so," said Howard. "The combination of me being American, this being the biggest club in the world and this being the great cup competition means people back home will take notice."

Also, the fact that Howard has had the courage to use his mild form of Tourette's Syndrome, the disorder characterised by involuntary body movements and vocal outbursts, to highlight awareness of the ailment has brought much applause from the States where he was named by one magazine as humanitarian of the year.

Howard's mother, Esther, was quoted recently as saying she felt that his Tourette's had worsened under the pressure of playing for United, that he was prone after training to throw his head back, blink much faster and stutter. This prompted some ill-informed suggestions that it was part of the reason why Ferguson dropped him for a while after his one blip in form.

"I think it was misinterpreted," said Howard. "My mother has seen me once this year and maybe it was just a bad day she caught me on. For me, it hasn't got any worse than it has been in the last decade or so. It certainly hasn't got worse just because I've been here."

As for Ferguson's decision to replace him with Roy Carroll for a spell, Howard actually applauds his boss, a coach he likens to the legendary American football guru Vince Lombardi.

"It amazed me that he knew exactly the moment when I needed a rest and I feel better mentally and physically for it," he said. "Basically, the man is as good as advertised."

So, Millwall must fear, is his rejuvenated, star-spangled stopper.