John O'Shea has warned his Manchester United team-mates they will get no recognition for their performances in Europe this season unless they win the Champions League.
Even though he is only in his first full season as an Old Trafford regular, the young Republic of Ireland international was one of the more experienced members of the side which slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Deportivo La Coruna last night.
With qualification as Group D winners already secured, manager Alex Ferguson opted to field one of his `experimental' teams, containing half-a-dozen rookies, including one debutant in defender Mark Lynch.
However, Friday's quarter-final draw marks the end of squad rotation and Ferguson will need all his key men available next month as most of European football's biggest names strive for ultimate supremacy.
With seven successive quarter-final appearances behind them, the Red Devils have proved their durability and consistency down the years.
But O'Shea believes they must add to their memorable 1999 triumph in the competition if they are to be remembered as one of the all-time great sides.
"No-one remembers the losers of a semi-final, or a final," said the 21-year-old Waterford-born player. "We need to reach the final more often and while our squad might not be as big as that of the other teams, with the talent we have, we are more than capable of winning it."
With Juventus ruled out as potential last-eight opponents, United know they will be paired with one of three teams in Friday's quarter-final draw.
Holders Real Madrid will definitely be one of the options and Ferguson seized the opportunity of watching them in action on television yesterday ahead of his own side's game.
Such was his reaction when Lokomotiv Moscow missed a couple of late chances to send Real tumbling out of the competition, the United boss was clearly hoping the Spanish giants would not be lying in wait, even if he expressed his relish for a confrontation after last night's game.
In contrast to their sometimes patchy Barclaycard Premiership form, O'Shea admitted his team-mates have no problem finding a high performance level in their European adventures.
"It's difficult to put your finger on but every time we have had to raise our game in Europe we have done so," he said.
"The players and experience we picked up in Europe seems to mean that we can cope with the situation without a problem and we have gained confidence from our performances.
"Real Madrid are possible opponents for us but the calibre of any team we get is going to be top class. It's the quarter-finals of the Champions League and that is where we want to be."