Nigel Clough knows that as long as he is involved in football he will have to deal with inevitable comparisons but last night the Derby County manager was happy to offer up one of his own when he drew parallels with his legendary father, Brian, and Sir Alex Ferguson. Old Big 'Ead would no doubt have appreciated his son's comments, although he would probably have argued that Ferguson was lucky to have his name in such illustrious company.

From their style of management and European Cup success to their unwavering beliefs on how the game should be played, there are obvious similarities but Clough Jr was not thinking purely in football terms. The former Burton Albion manager also pointed out that his father and the man he comes face to face with at Old Trafford tonight, in the Carling Cup semi-final second leg, shared a working-class upbringing and political allegiances that are just as significant.

"There are certainly similarities," reflected Clough. "Their backgrounds, the way they were brought up in football. The understanding as well – they realise how hard people work during the week to go and pay to watch football. They choose to spend it on football and they are entitled to be entertained. That was a basis of their philosophies. Their teams play similar: both disciplined, both play attacking football and both fiercely competitive. And I don't think there are too many Labour supporters among football managers these days either, which they both were."

There are also few managers to have operated with the same level of control. "They used to describe them as 'top-to-bottom managers'," added Clough, who believes that, of the current generation, only Arsène Wenger and Martin O'Neill could claim similar positions of power. "It has changed so much. [But] to have survived as long as [Ferguson] has at that sort of level is absolutely remarkable."

This will be the second time Clough Jr has taken a team to Old Trafford, having suffered a 5–0 drubbing in a third-round FA Cup replay three years ago during his time with Burton. He could be forgiven for fearing a similar scoreline this evening, following the chastening 2–0 defeat to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. The performance left Clough "in a state of shock" and yesterday he delivered a damning verdict on the side he has inherited.

"On Saturday, the lads at Burton were better at doing certain things. Obviously we had been working with them not just for six months. Some had been there 10 years, some five years. [But] some of the basic things on Saturday, any player in the lower leagues wouldn't have made those sorts of mistakes."

Clough plans to make changes to the starting line-up at Old Trafford, with Robbie Savage expected to feature at some point. The Welshman had been ­frozen out under Paul Jewell this season and claimed that Clough's predecessor made him feel "worthless", forcing him to train with the youth team. "I was made to feel that low on confidence and that bad a player that I was looking at any option possible. I went from Siberia to Beirut," said Savage.

"Let's not beat about the bush – everyone is fearing my legs have probably gone. I know that is not true. When you play in a team as bad as Derby last season everyone is low on confidence. You look like you have gone and I wasn't the only one but I was highly-paid and a big signing at the club. My hope through all of this was a new manager would come in and Nigel is a breath of fresh air."

Manchester United (probable, 4-4-2) Kuszczak; R Da Silva, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea; Gibson, Anderson, Scholes, Nani; Tevez, Welbeck

Derby County (probable, 4-4-1-1) Carroll; Connolly, Nyatanga, Todd, Stewart; Teale, Green, Addison, Davies; Commons; Hulse.

TV: Sky Sports 1, kick-off 8pm