RORY DELAP has revealed his school athletics career has prepared the set-peice weapons which could end Manchester United's silverware search this season.

The Republic of Ireland international has one of the longest throw-ins in professional football - and in-form Peter Crouch is the ideal man to benefit from the huge deliveries.

Delap's throw-ins came under criticism from sections of the St Mary's fanbase earlier this season, and the player freely confesses it has regularly failed to work.

But he is confident his throws can add to United's well documented defensive frailties - providing he passes a late fitness test on an ankle injury.

Ahead of tonight's FA Cup sixth round tie at St Mary's (5.15pm), Delap said: "I knew I could throw far because I always did the javelin when I was younger.

"I never really used it in junior football and it was late on in my first year of YTS that I actually started using it.

"I was playing a game and chucked a ball in and a striker scored the winner, and from then I started to work on it.

"It hasn't worked that well really over the past couple of years, for one reason or another, but when you have Crouchy in your team it works a lot better.

"It was frustrating when there was nothing really coming of them - there were people flicking it on but it was always to the keeper.

"It's not like we don't work on it, though.

"Now we have Crouchy, he's getting headers on target and when you have somebody like him you need to use it and get balls into the box.

"Every team, when they prepare for set pieces, will have Crouchy in their minds so it gives you a chance to use him as a decoy sometimes."

Delap added: "If you can get the ball dry, you can put it on somebody's head.

"If it's pouring down, you can sometimes get a good grip on the ball but if it's one of those days with a bit of moisture on the ground it's hard to get the ball dry and then it starts slipping and it's harder.

"When it's dry, it is pretty easy to pick people out and Crouchy is a big target."

Delap, meanwhile, insists Crouch's recent form has meant Saints haven't missed £6.5m striker James Beattie at all.

Crouch has been handed an extended run in the Saints team following Beattie's sale to Everton in January and has flourished with 11 goals so far season - 10 of which have come since Harry Redknapp took over early in mid-December.

Delap said: "I'm sure a lot of people worried when we sold Beatts but credit to Crouchy because he's meant he's not really been missed.

"If Crouchy wouldn't have come in and done what he's done, people would be saying we shouldn't have sold Beatts.

"We do miss Beatts because he's a good player but it's all down to Crouchy how well we're doing at the moment.

"All the lads knew how good he was.

"Having played against him and seen him on TV, and even when he was at QPR, I always thought what a good player he is.

"He does have a good touch for a big man, something Niall Quinn hated people saying about him, but he can get out of tight situations and he's been magnificent for us the last couple of months.

"It's all down to him at the moment.

"He was a bit frustrated at the start of the season when he couldn't get into the side, but since he's been in he's proved what a good player he is."