The Rovers midfielder grew up in a United-supporting family back home in Norway and admits he still has a soft spot for the Red Devils. Pedersen, who lives in Manchester, was among the Old Trafford crowd for United's recent victories over Schalke and Chelsea and also watched Wednesday's reserve team match between the sides. The 29-year-old said: "I was a little bit of a United fan when I was younger. I followed the teams with Norwegian players in but my dad was a Manchester United fan and they were probably my number one team as well. "It's fun to go to watch them when they play the big teams and it's next door to me as well so I'm lucky. "Manchester United are unbelievable. Other teams may be better on paper, player for player, but the team of Manchester United is the best in England." However, Pedersen's United connections will not stop him doing everything he can to ensure Ferguson's side do not collect the point they need to be certain of finishing as Premier League champions when the teams meet at Ewood Park on Saturday. And Pedersen's family and friends will - mostly - be supporting Rovers as they look to collect vital points in their bid to avoid relegation. "My dad was never a crazy fan and him supporting United has never been a problem for me," said Pedersen. "When we play, he supports Blackburn. "I've got other friends who say, 'You have to do this and that to let United win the league', but I tell them I have more important things on my mind - to keep Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League." Previous performances against United certainly show no accusations of split loyalties could be levelled at the Norway international. Probably his most famous achievement was scoring both goals in a 2-1 win at Old Trafford in 2005, just over a year after he had joined Rovers from boyhood club Tromso, while he netted again in a 1-1 League Cup draw between the teams later that season. Pedersen said: "I had one of my best games against them. I wouldn't mind if I can do that again on Saturday but we have to go out there as a team. "Hopefully some of us can do a little bit of magic and we can produce some good stuff and hopefully get points. But it's always a good memory and people remind me of it. It was a big moment for me." Rovers do not have to look back as far as 2005 for encouragement to take into tomorrow's game after holding United to a goalless draw at Ewood last season, while Liverpool have been among their scalps this term. Pedersen added: "It's a tough game but we've done well against the big teams at home this year and hopefully we can do well against Manchester United as well. "We know they need a point to be the champions but we drew with them last year and we've beaten them here before. We just have to work as hard as we can. We need the points as much as United. I'm looking forward to it, it's always fun to play these games."
