"It will be difficult but we are determined to get the victory because when this match is over, we will have played the same number of games as everyone else.

"Most of the time we have been a few points behind but if we beat Fulham we will be in a very good position."

The match was originally due to be played last August but was postponed due to United's presence in the European Super Cup. United will find themselves five points clear should they beat the Cottagers yet Vidic says United players still shocked at how quickly they have gained the upper hand given their fears heading to Japan for the Club World Cup in December.

"Immediately before that tournament we drew with Tottenham and were thinking how the table would look when we got back," said Vidic.

"But no-one took advantage and this is a time of year when we have always done well, so once we started playing our matches again, we caught up pretty quickly."

"I have improved my abilities and I have been part of a team that has won trophies and become part of the history of the club," continued the 27-year-old.

"It was definitely a good choice to join United, not that I ever worried whether it would be. It is always nice to break records and win things but that is something I will enjoy more when I have finished playing.

"Then I want to be able to say I worked hard and won a lot of things. But for now, there is no time to enjoy the trophies. You just think about each game."

Vidic is among a cl**tch of senior players set to get their places back after Ferguson relied heavily on youth for the FA Cup triumph at Derby on Sunday.

Rio Ferdinand, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Carrick and Carlos Tevez can all expect to be involved, along with goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar.

Having now claimed English and British league records for the amount of time without conceding a goal, the Dutchman is now moving on to the European list.

It has been widely assumed Atletico Madrid's Abel Resino holds that mark with 1,275 minutes, 63 ahead of Van der Sar.

However, the record actually belongs to former Club Bruges stalwart Dany Verlinden, who reached 1,390 minutes in a 16-match run that spanned two seasons in 1990, meaning Van der Sar needs to keep out the Cottagers and Blackburn on Saturday to overhaul him.