PAUL Scholes admitted Manchester United's 4-0 victory over Saints was "massive" for their season.

The former England midfielder struck with two second-half goals, taking his seasonal tally to 10, as the FA Cup holders cruised into the last four.

"It was a massive game, it was a chance to get into the semi-final and then you are only one step away," said Scholes after United's 19th win in 27 league and cup attempts since the formation of the Premiership in 1992.

"There are still some good teams in there. Whoever we get it will be difficult, I hope we can go all the way.

"It is a major competition and one we want to win."

With United having been beaten 2-0 on aggregate by AC Milan in the Champions League and the gap to Chelsea in the Premiership some eight points, Scholes stressed that United remained determined to win some silverware.

"We want to hopefully win a trophy every season," he said.

"It was obviously disappointing midweek and it was nice to bounce back.

"We played well first-half. We could have had five or six.

"It was nice to get off to a good start. We felt that if we got out of the blocks quickly, it would give us a platform. To get that 2-0 lead was nice, we knew we were well capable.

"I don't think we have been three or four up for a while so it was nice to get there.

"I've not scored for a while and it is always nice to get into double figures for the season and I hope to get a few more."

United are still yet to concede a goal in the FA Cup this season.

England centre-back Rio Ferdinand was in typically assured form and said: "It is nice not to concede but we want to win something.

"We have been playing well in the last few months, though he last few results in the Champions League didn't go our way.

"We don't want to go a season without a trophy and it (the FA Cup) is a trophy we are capable of winning."

Ferdinand admitted it was the early deflected goal from Roy Keane which set the tone for the tie.

He added: "We always knew that if we got an early goal it would settle us down. It shuts their fans up and it was a good goal and set us up the right way.

"Paul Scholes got two good goals but many players did well and we needed that."