Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce has hailed the current Manchester United team as the best Sir Alex Ferguson has ever had.

Allardyce takes his Rovers side to Old Trafford for a Barclays Premier League clash on Saturday, admitting that the Ewood Park outfit will be hard pressed to get anything from the game against a United side - the fifth Ferguson has assembled during his 23 year Old Trafford tenure - high on confidence and firing on all cylinders.

"For me, it is be the best team (Ferguson has had)," the former Bolton manager told the Sun newspaper.

"You look at this United team and you see youth, vibrancy, talent and more players with all those qualities than he has ever had before."

Whilst paying tribute to United's terrific team effort this season, Allardyce was quick to praise the individual contributions of ‘veterans' Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville.

"Those three will not let the other players forget ‘This is Manchester United, this is how it is'," he explained.

"They still have a massive influence on the way Manchester United should be and the way you should be when you play for them."

With United currently holding a five point lead over Liverpool at the top of England's elite division and facing a quarter-final UEFA Champions League clash against Inter Milan on Tuesday, Allardyce also boldly predicted that United are firmly on track to repeat last year's domestic and European double.

"I believe they can do it, definitely. And if they do that Double again, you cannot argue against them being Sir Alex's best.

"You can't see past them for the league right now and they showed last season they are the strongest side in Europe. They have got better since.

"No one wins the league and Champions League in successive seasons but they can.

"That alone will make them the greatest team Sir Alex has ever had."