United begin defence of Shield on Tuesday night

The Sky Blues begin their defence of the competition - their first major trophy win for 23 years - tonight (Tuesday) when they host Championship side Donegal Celtic (7.45pm).

“When you’re the holders of any trophy you want to try to defend it,” said Ferguson.

“DC have changed a good bit of their personnel from last year but Paul McAreavey will have them fired up and it will be a big night for them to be playing against a senior team again.

“It’s also a quarter-final and they will see it as a chance to get to a semi-final, which could be good for them financially.

We’ll have to be on our game to get through but I would be fairly confident that if we play to our potential, we should progress to the next round.”

Winger David Cushley hobbled off in Saturday’s draw at Glentoran but Ferguson insists: “It was more a question of his fitness levels which he’s still building up because he hasn’t played for a while.

“Michael Ruddy has a back spasm after taking a knock on it on Saturday so we’ll assess those before Tuesday but there will be no risks taken on anyone,” added Ferguson.

Skipper Allan Jenkins is also available for selection after completing a one-match suspension.

United continue their Danske Bank Premiership campaign this Saturday with a home game against Warrenpoint Town (3pm).