Blackburn Rovers midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen will fulfil a childhood fantasy when he steps out at the aptly-named 'Theatre of Dreams' tomorrow.

The Norwegian international has confessed he often dreamt about playing at Old Trafford when he was growing up, but wearing the red of his boyhood heroes Manchester United rather than the blue and white of Blackburn Rovers.

Tomorrow, however, Pedersen will be aiming to gun down the team he supported as a child, even if that may cause one or two ructions with his family and friends back home.

United have developed a huge fan base in Norway over the last decade or so, mainly because of the exploits of players like Henning Berg and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who became massive heroes to a generation of Norwegians.

There was a time when Pedersen dreamt about following in his fellow countrymen's footsteps, but now the 23-year-old is only focused on doing his best for Blackburn Rovers.

The former Tromso star admitted: "Yes, it's true, I was a Manchester United fan as a kid.

"United are really big in Norway because of all the Norwegians who have played for the club in the past.

"Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ronny Johnsen, Henning Berg and Erik Nevland are all big heroes back home so most Norwegians follow either Manchester United or Liverpool.

"I supported United because my father did and so did some of my friends.

"But I'm a Blackburn player now and all I'm bothered about is doing my best for them."

Given his early allegiances, it was somewhat ironic that Pedersen made his Blackburn debut against United when the two sides fought out a 1-1 draw at Ewood Park in August.

That was a special occasion for the winger but to score the winner at Old Trafford tomorrow would be even better for a player who has only ever visited the ground before as a spectator.

"I've never played at Old Trafford," said Pedersen.

"I've been there to watch some games as a supporter when I was younger but I've never played there so I'm really looking forward to it.

"It's a great stadium and not many people get the chance to play there so I'm going to savour it."

Old Trafford has not exactly been a lucky ground for Rovers in recent times; in fact, it's 43 years since they last won a league game there.

However, they were heading for all three points when the two sides met at Ewood earlier this season until a controversial late equaliser from Alan Smith rescued a point for the Reds.

A repeat of that scoreline tomorrow would probably suit Rovers boss Mark Hughes, particularly as United are unbeaten in 19 Premiership outings.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side last tasted defeat at Portsmouth on October 30, and they have since claimed 49 points from a possible 57 to boost their hopes of pipping Arsenal to second place.

Nevertheless, Pedersen insists Rovers are still capable of upsetting the formbook if they approach the game in the same way as they approached their recent trips to Liverpool and Everton.

The Norwegian said: "United have so many good players, it's difficult to single any one out but Roy Keane is still an important player for them, and I like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney and Ronaldo so we know we'll have to play very well defensively to get a result.

"But Andy Todd and Ryan Nelsen have both been excellent at the back for us recently, and we are working well as a team so who knows?

"No-one expects us to win at Old Trafford but all it takes is a goal to win a game."