Ince the veteran snarler relishes Wolves' confrontation with Arsenal's top dogs

Phil Shaw finds The Guv'nor with one eye on management and the other on tomorrow's FA Cup tie at Highbury

Another day, another powder-keg confrontation for Paul Ince. For a few seconds last Saturday the former England captain looked set to throttle Dennis Wise. Tomorrow, setting friendship aside during Wolverhampton Wanderers' FA Cup collision with Arsenal, he will be in Patrick Vieira's face.

At least he hopes to be. Arsène Wenger's selection policy could deny Highbury the chance to watch them tangle in the fourth round, especially with Arsenal facing Manchester United next Tuesday. That has not stopped Ince from relishing a possible reunion with the midfielder he rates "the best out there".

Ince will be 38 on his next birthday. Asked whom he thought would win the duel with Vieira were he 28, as the Frenchman is now, he replies matter-of-factly: "I think I would, to be fair." Then, as if to show that calling yourself The Guv'nor need not preclude self-deprecation, he bursts into giggles.

"We get on well and always have a laugh when we meet. When Wolves played at Arsenal last season, Patrick said in the programme that I was the one he'd looked up to. I found it embarrassing considering that he's world class."

He and Vieira are actually rather different, Ince maintains. "We both drive teams on, but Patrick's more elegant than I was in my prime. He does great things on the ball. I was more of a get-the-tackles-in-and-pass-it type."

Ince is too modest - an accusation seldom levelled at him - with his use of the past tense. He is not the force of a decade ago, when he bossed Manchester United's midfield en route to 53 England caps. Yet it is no coincidence that since he returned from injury, Wolves have won three consecutive games.

Ince attributes much of the credit for the Championship stragglers' resurgence to Glenn Hoddle, who he views as a national treasure. "I've always felt Glenn should still be England manager. He got stitched up over a comment he made.

"Look at the things Sven [Goran Eriksson] has done - going behind the FA's back and the rest - yet he's still in the job. If Glenn was still in charge I think we'd have won something by now. He's a winner."

Some of Hoddle's England players criticised his man-management, claiming he felt he was still more skilful than them and judged everyone by his own standards. The idea sets Ince chuckling again. "If you watched Glenn in training you'd see he is the best. He's still fantastic with both feet."

Ince played against Hoddle - and an Arsenal midfield of David Rocastle, Steve Williams, Paul Davis and Graham Rix, as a West Ham teenager - which is a reminder of how long he has been crunching into opponents. What keeps him going? "Sometimes I ask myself that question, but I enjoy playing so much I don't want to stop. It's a great job. I'm very lucky to have the ability to have it.

"You lose pace. The legs go. It takes days to get over knocks and strains after games. But something's telling me I must go on as long as I can. If I thought I was letting the lads down, I'd pack in. But I still feel strong. I still want to win my one-on-one battles. And I've still got the hunger and desire."

The latter words pepper Ince's conversation. Too many modern-day players, he argues, lack those qualities. "They get vast amounts of money - and they do earn it - but the big cars and houses come too easily.

"Look at Tony Adams, Alan Shearer and Roy Keane. They had a passion that came from their backgrounds. I worry when I see the kids in the academies. They've got the best pitches, coaches and tracksuits. But where's the incentive for them to strive to be a top, top player?"

Ince's son Thomas, who becomes a teenager on Sunday, is attached to the Under-13 set-up at Liverpool, where Ince played after his Italian sojourn with Internazionale. "He's a winger, a bit of a flyer," Dad declares proudly. "But how is he going to get that hunger to be the player I'd like him to be?"

Arsenal may field players half Ince's age. Wenger rested his big guns against Wolves in the League Cup last season and still won 5-1. "If he rests Thierry Henry and Patrick, we'll be encouraged," Ince asserts. "Some of the understudies are terrific, but not in the Vieira class."

He would be disappointed, though, on what could be his swansong on a major stage, if Wenger "degraded" the tie. "I look at the Manchester United and Liverpool sides in the third round and think: 'You're disrespecting the FA Cup'. It's a great competition to win. But whoever plays for Arsenal, it is going to be bloody hard."

Ince is unusual at his current level in having tasted triumph at Highbury, and more than once. "I was with United when we won 6-2 in the League Cup and Lee Sharpe got a hat-trick. I also won there with Middlesbrough and they scored two own goals. If they do that again, we'll have half a chance!"

In the longer term, he is undecided whether this season will be his last. Much may hinge on whether Hoddle stays at Molineux beyond his six-month contract, and perhaps on Wolves' ability to repeat their run to the play-offs of 2003.

"I've got to go away after the season with my wife and see how the old bones are shaping up. It's getting harder, especially the way I play, in the war zone. Doing those tackles year in, year out takes its toll.

"I'd like to stay at Wolves in some capacity. I love it. The potential is massive, but we need to be in the Premiership, and to go out and buy if we get back. We didn't do that last season and got punished.

"I could jump on a horse and ride off into the sunset, but I'd rather stay in football. Coaching and management are things I want to do. Whether I'd be any good, I don't know."

Arsenal beware: the new, modest Paul Ince will turn into the same old hungry snarler when the clock strikes three tomorrow.

INCE BY INCE: MEMORIES AND MISTAKES

MY BEST FOOTBALL

Probably the four years from 1992 at Manchester United. Inter Milan was fantastic, too. Not staying longer is one of my few regrets - we'd just got Ronaldo - but it was a family thing. I also enjoyed playing for Liverpool until [Gérard] Houllier came and destroyed the whole thing.

MY GREATEST MATCH

I was a proud captain when England drew in Rome to reach the World Cup finals. I roomed with Ian Wright in Italy so I didn't sleep the night before. We were so excited. I'm sure we'd have won the tournament if we'd won the Argentina shoot-out. It was such a good side.

MY FAVOURITE PLAYER

Has to be Paul Gascoigne. Gazza and me have always been close and I tried to get him to Wolves. His quote about my looking like a pint of Guinness when my head was bandaged in Rome was typical of him. He was a phenomenal talent. Eric Cantona is right up there too.

MY BIGGEST MISTAKE

Posing in a Manchester United top before I'd left West Ham wasn't a good idea. Their fans still slaughter me, but I was a kid and it wasn't my decision. I get stick everywhere: at Manchester City because I played for United, at Everton because I was at Liverpool. I can't win!