JAAP Stam believes Reading FC have ‘nothing to lose’ when they go to Manchester United for a mouthwatering FA Cup third round tie.

Stam will return to Old Trafford for the first time as a manager on Saturday, January 7 (12.30pm ko) after three years as a United player.

Royals will be massive underdogs as they take on Jose Mourinho’s star-studded side, but Stam is refusing to rule out the possibility of causing a major upset.

The 44-year-old Dutchman made 127 appearances for the Red Devils, scoring once, before he was sold to Lazio in 2001.

He said: “It’s great to play in this competition. Anything can happen in cup football – that makes it interesting.

"There’s always a different atmosphere at United, it’s always a sell-out and that gives you a boost as a player. It’s something to look forward to.

“And to be honest, we’ve got nothing to lose. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to go out there and enjoy it and let them score a couple of goals.

"It means we’re be playing against a very good side and we’ll be giving it our best shot.

“We’ll be working very hard to get a result. If we lose, we lose. But we’re going to try and get the result over there.”

The third-round draw took place on Monday night and when Manchester United – ball number 25 – were drawn against Reading – ball 32 – it created huge interest on social media, as Royals fans and supporters expressed their excitement.

Stam, who won the competition in the 1998/99 season with United as part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s iconic treble-winning team, added: “From what I’ve heard, they still sing my song over there – so that’s a good sign.

“I had a great time there and I still love the club, the people there and the fans. It’s always nice to go back – it’s like you’ve never been away, because a lot of people have been working there since I played there.

“I’ve been back before, of course, after I stopped playing for different reasons. But now to play in the FA Cup with Reading in front of the 80,000 fans that they get every home game will be very exciting.

“It gives you a great feeling to be back, and to go back as a manager of your team, you hope to do well. It’s going to be difficult, but we always have a small chance to do well. We’re going to try to do it.

“There are a lot of memories from the FA Cup, it’s a very big tournament here and it’s a very big prize to win. Everyone wants to win it and do well.

“A lot of players want to play in the Premier League and show themselves and what they can do to the world – and now they have got their chance.

“It’ll be interesting to see who they play as well – you don’t know whether they’ll play a first XI. But the whole squad has a lot of quality.

"They are a great side with a great manager, so it’s going to be interesting to play at Old Trafford and to see what we can do.”

Last season under Brian McDermott, Royals made it the quarter-finals of the competition before crashing out against former boss Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace.

The year before that they went even better when Steve Clarke’s side were narrowly beaten 2-1 by Arsenal in extra time in the semi final at Wembley.

While Stam will relish the test against his former employers, the Royals have never won at Old Trafford.

Their best result was a 0-0 draw in August, 2007, despite Dave Kitson being sent off just moments after coming on to the pitch in the Premier League clash.

Steve Coppell’s Royals also managed a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in the FA Cup fifth round in February, 2007 when Brynjar Gunnarsson cancelled out Michael Carrick’s opener.

Reading lost the replay 3-2 at Madejski Stadium when Gabriel Heinze, Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored in the opening six minutes before Dave Kitson and Leroy Lita replied for the hosts.