SAF:
"There are only four trophies available every year. And, with the competition now generated in the Premier League and the money thrown at it, not just by Manchester United and Chelsea but by all clubs, there is a tremendous demand and pressure on all these clubs with great histories to deliver and win a trophy. With that kind of competition we face nowadays, winning one trophy is good, I'm telling you. No matter what it is, you have to take that as a successful season because there are teams who are not going to win a trophy this year - big clubs, maybe not as world-renowned as Manchester United, but certainly big, big clubs with great histories.
"We had a great spell in the 1990s, a phenomenal spell. But from that moment on of winning the European Cup, there was a catch-up by all clubs, realising that a British team could win the European Cup. It was great for British football because of that, but it also created a far bigger demand from other clubs to do the same and we are facing stiffer opposition now. It's quite right that Wigan are bringing a bit of romance to it with what they have achieved over the years and where they started from, coming into the League in 1977. The drive of Dave Whelan and the management of Paul Jewell have made them an outstanding team this year. Quite rightly the whole country will be behind them, and I think that's good.
Looking back to 1991 he said:
"That Sheffield Wednesday game is a very good reminder about what can happen in a final," he said.
"There are plenty of examples; look at Arsenal on Tuesday. They go to Madrid, with one or two players missing from their strongest side, with everyone writing them off and they beat the most successful team in European Cup history."
Ronaldo:
"I have won the FA Cup with United but I am thirsty to win more and bigger trophies. I am sad we're not in the Champions League and the FA Cup. But that is all in the past. We can't change that but we can change and affect the future. Our concentration and focus is on Wigan and winning the Carling Cup."
Ferdinand in United's mag:
"I don't want to go another season without winning something with United.
"That would do my head in. The title and the Champions League were the priorities but any trophy will do because it could be the catalyst for us to win some more."
Gaz Nev:
"I think people will always look to be sarcastic," he said of what the final's importance says of the campaign endured by United. "People seem to be looking upon this game from a negative point of view, rather than a positive of Manchester United reaching a final. You dream a lot as a kid, especially growing up as a Manchester United fan. You go to that stadium and believe anything is possible.
"On Sunday there is a possibility that can happen. I went to see United in cup finals as a youngster, and one of the reasons you fall in love with a club is because of moments like that. Out of the 40,000 fans we've got going on Sunday, a lot will be kids and we've got to make them dream and give them a performance they can be proud of."
Van der Sar (by no means a definite starter):
"You come to Old Trafford and you expect to win trophies, and now this is the only realistic one. You always expect to do well at a club like this in big competitions, and we haven't done that. That's a disappointment to the newcomers like me who've not tasted success here, and to those who've been here longer and won things in the past. We have to address that on Sunday and also next season."
O'Shea:
"I knew that if I could get through the reserves game I'd have a chance of being involved at the weekend.
"The run-out allowed me to get some sharpness back into my body and thankfully it went well; I feel great.
"I've trained for a few days now and it feels 100 percent better.
"We always want to win every Cup final we get to and Sunday's game is no different.
"They're special occasions and I really hope to be involved.
"A few of the lads have won lots of trophies with United but one trophy many of them haven't won is the League Cup.
"We'll therefore be completely focused on doing a professional job because we know it will be tough against Wigan.
"We also know what it's like to lose a Cup final and we'll be looking to take our chances to try and make up for the disappointment we suffered against Liverpool in 2003."
Paul Jewell:
"I know what it's like to be left out for a final. In my case, it was the Freight Rover Trophy at Wembley in 1985 but it was still the hardest blow I had to take in football.
"I expected to play. I had played in the Wigan first team most of the season. I was one of the leading scorers.
"But the manager, Bryan Hamilton, played Mike Newell instead of me. Newelly scored and we beat Brentford 3-1 so the manager was right.
"It's 20 years ago but that decision still hurts. I got on for 10 minutes, ran around and never touched the ball. I hated Bryan Hamilton for that.
"And whoever I leave out on Sunday is going to hate me for it because you do take it personally. There is no doubt about it. But that's what I get paid for.
"You can't make decisions on personalities. You can't make them on sentiment. You have to make them on what you think is right professionally and Bryan Hamilton thought it was right to play Mike Newell.
"It's only 20 years later, now I have got that same dilemma, that I can understand the difficulty.
"If you are lying in your bed thinking about how you might be about to make someone hate you for 20 years, you would never do your job.
"When I pick the team, 11 players and 11 girlfriends and 11 sets of parents think 'he's picked the right team, what a good guy he is', and the rest think 'what a twat'.
"That's something you get used to. It doesn't worry me. I always want the responsibility of looking someone in the eye and telling them straight.
"Some people take it well. Some people don't. I can't worry about it. I'm not here to be popular, I'm here to be as good as I can be."
Graham Kavanagh:
"They're struggling to find the players they would like. They used to have a monopoly in the transfer market but not any more because of Chelsea.I very much hope it's Wigan's time and I suppose it is a good time to play them.
"They (midfielders) are not Keane or Scholes but the criticism has been a bit unfair. People said United would never find a replacement for Bryan Robson and Paul Ince, now they are saying it about Roy Keane. I suppose the difference is Ince and Keane were already at United and next in line. In this instance we are talking about young lads and, while they may not be a replacement in the Keane mould, they have to be given a chance. If you look at last season's FA Cup final, United dominated in midfield but still didn't win," he said. But usually, if you get on top of the opposition in midfield you have a very good chance of winning the game. We certainly believe we have the players to stamp our authority all over the park - and midfield has to be an area where we look to do it."
De Zeeuw:
"Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rooney play off each other extremely well. I first played against Ruud years and years and years ago when I was at Telstar and he played for Den Bosch. Ruud is very difficult to mark because he takes up very good positions. He always stands on the edge of offside, or just offside and then comes back on. He tries to stand behind you, so you are constantly thinking where is he?
"When Rooney gets on the ball and starts running at you, it is very hard. I'm not comparing Rooney to Maradona, a world-class player, but like Maradona and Romario, Rooney's centre of gravity is so low, he can shift from left to right so easily, and that is extremely difficult for defenders. And Rooney is a deadly finisher."
Jason Roberts:
"We have to play the match and not the occasion, but then we have been doing that all season. We have gone to places where people did not give us a chance, but with the right mental approach we have done well. So there will be no qualms going into the game, which means as much to us as them, even though they play in finals every season. There is obviously pressure on them to win it because they might not otherwise win anything this season. But from our point of view, we may not be in this situation again, which means both sides will be desperate to win this game. But I am conscious this might be my one and only opportunity to play in a cup final, although hopefully it is the first of many. We just have to believe in ourselves and go out and do what we are good at. You don't want to come away from a match like this with regrets, so I am sure we will be positive, as we have all season and go out to win the game. It has been a remarkable story for us this year, and we want to make sure we finish it off on a high."
The Sun:
'Alan Smith will get a Carling Cup winner’s medal if Manchester United beat Wigan.
His horrific broken leg means he cannot even attend tomorrow’s final in Cardiff. But United are determined to win for Smith and then hand him one of the 21 medals that are allocated to the victors.'
The Guardian:
It is safe to say that the last trophy Sir Alex Ferguson has ever wanted to win is the League Cup. Yet if Manchester United beat Wigan Athletic in tomorrow's Carling final the occasion may come to be remembered as the last trophy the club won under his management.
A United victory is no foregone conclusion although so far this season Wigan have usually lost against the big teams and were spanked 4-0 at Old Trafford in December. The point is that, win or lose, tomorrow will be Wigan's day whereas for their opponents, whatever the outcome, it will be a further reminder of the extent to which United's aspirations have shrunk.
Wigan would be entitled to parade the most significant piece of silverware in their history around town but any rejoicing by United would be tempered by their failures in the Champions League and FA Cup along with the knowledge that the best they can now do in the Premiership is to finish second while reducing Chelsea's winning margin to single figures.
For Ferguson these are frustrating times. Last weekend he saw his side knocked out of the Cup by Liverpool without firing a serious shot in anger. This week he has been a mere bystander for two tumultuous days in the Champions League as Arsenal became the first team from England to beat Real Madrid in the Bernabéu and Stamford Bridge became the first English ground to witness at first hand the precocious talents of Barcelona's 18-year-old Argentinian, Lionel Messi.
Sir Alex Ferguson tried so hard to talk up the Carling Cup yesterday that it began to seem a trick of the imagination that his treatment of the competition once prompted an MP to complain about Manchester United in the House of Commons. Ferguson's regard for English football's third piece of silverware could accurately be summed up by Roy Keane going from October 1996 to January 2004 without playing a single tie at Old Trafford. The League Cup? It was an afterthought, a consolation prize cluttering up an already congested fixture list.
The Mirror:
Ruud van Nistelrooy is facing the axe from Manchester United's star t ing line - up for tomorrow's Carling Cup final against Wigan.
Boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been preparing with Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha as his strike pairing in the build-up to the clash at the Millennium Stadium.
And that could see van Nistelrooy relegated to the bench in a shock move by Fergie that may also spell the beginning of the end for the Dutchman's illustrious United career.
Van Nistelrooy has been a prolific marksman since joining United for £19m five years ago and is the Premiership's top scorer this season with 19 goals. But he has looked listless in recent games and that, coupled with Saha's return to form with six goals from his last six starts, has left van Nistelrooy vulnerable.
BBC:
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has been passed fit after missing the FA Cup defeat at Liverpool with a hamstring injury.
John O'Shea is also available after recovering from fractured ribs.
Wigan striker Jason Roberts is set to return to the starting line-up after completing a three-match suspension.
Defender Stephane Henchoz (knee) trained on Thursday and should be fit. Reto Ziegler, Lee McCulloch and David Thompson vie for the left-wing role.
Man Utd (from): Van der Sar, Howard, Neville, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre, Evra, O'Shea, Richardson, Ronaldo, Park, Giggs, Fletcher, Rooney, Van Nistelrooy, Saha, Rossi, Bardsley.
Wigan (from): Pollitt, Filan, Chimbonda, Jackson, Baines, De Zeeuw, Henchoz, Teale, Bullard, Kavanagh, Thompson, McCulloch, Scharner, Johansson, Camara, Mellor, Francis, Mahon, Ziegler, Roberts.
BBC Weather:
Saturday. Sunny Max 7°C Min 2°C
Sunday: Cloudy Max 6°C Min -2°C