HE'S NOT FINISHED THERE

"If there is one team that has the duty and the obligation to open [up] the championship it is Manchester United. We still have six points to play for with Chelsea and if we perform as we expect then [it] will be open again.

On criticism:

“Some say it doesn’t matter whether it is for good or bad reasons, the most important thing is people are talking about us.

“I don’t really care about the criticism. After so many years in the game, I know the important thing is to deliver for the club and reach the goals our fans expect.

“We can all learn from opinions but in the end we should do the things we believe to be right. If, at any point in the season, you stop doing that, you will not go anywhere.”

On Ferdinand:

"I disagree in terms of an individual criticism but in terms of collective defensive work, we can improve and be more dominant."

On tonight:

"Every competition is important to us but we will not compromise our strategic approach to this one just because we didn't do well last season.

“We want to win the trophy but we also have a responsibility to develop young players. We trust the youngsters who will play. We know they have great qualities, that is why they are here.

"It is difficult because we haven’t had much time to prepare the squad as a team. But they have played a lot of football together in the reserves and they are ready. All they need to do is play for the team and perform as we know they can."

Defensive duo Adam Eckersley and Danny Simpson, striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and midfielder Lee Martin, are all set to play, alongside continental pair Gerard Pique and Giuseppe Rossi.

Wes Brown makes his first appearance for three months, while Tim Howard gets a rare start after dropping behind Edwin van der Sar in the goalkeeping pecking order.

RI’s info is that the team is:
Howard, Bardsley, Pique, Brown, Eckersley, Miller, Jones(Richard), Richardson, Martin, Rossi, Blake.