SUNDAY PREVIEW

Last updated : 20 October 2006 By Editor
Smith:

“Sunday is massive. We are top of the league and we have to make sure we stay there. But we know what happened against Arsenal so we have to be focused, determined and concentrate.

“Most times we play against Arsenal it is about getting stuck in and it is all hurly burly but they played total football that day and everyone agrees they ran out worthy winners.

“We have to make sure against Liverpool on Sunday we will be up and at 'em and ready from the start because this will be more of a battle.

“We have to make it 100mph. Any Liverpool-Man United game is big but the form we are in we will be confident going into it.

“People like rivalry, that is why the game is so big. That is why people get excited about coming to watch and why we get excited about playing. Any rivalry in football is always good.

“When I used to come to Old Trafford with Leeds it was more a rivalry from Leeds fans against United than the other way round. This is both sides. Both sets of players want to win.

“As a young side concentration is the main thing we lack. The gaffer has spoken about it. To be a great team we need to make sure we are concentrating right from the off.

“He pointed that out before the game against Copenhagen and it was aimed at Saturday's first-half performance against Wigan. We can't afford to be like that against Liverpool.”


Patrice Evra in hyperbolic mode:

“Manchester United against Liverpool is the biggest club game in the world. The atmosphere is special. In France the big match was Paris St Germain against Marseille but United against Liverpool is so massive.

“Everybody you see before the game says `come on Pat' because it is such a big game and everyone is desperate for us to win. They are all urging you to do well. You are very aware of what it means to everybody.

“Last season it was great because we won 1-0 at Old Trafford and it was a special game for everyone in Manchester. It was difficult, it was very hard and very strong but that's the way it is over here.”


Ferguson on Scholes' 500th appearance:

“It's a fantastic achievement. And we're very fortunate to have three great examples in Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes to have surpassed that total. And I think they'll be OK for a few years to come.

“It speaks volumes of the people they are. It's a credit to their endurance, first of all, to play as long as that in the first team, particularly at this club, and a great tribute to their ability and their desire. We're been very lucky.

“Whether it can happen again or not, it is difficult to say. We hope it does because we are the type of club that encourages people to stay. They are examples of players that are happy at this club because we have looked after them. It's a two-way deal here. Very few players want to leave, but you can't take that for granted.

“Myself and Paul both had reflection time last season, which makes it doubly pleasing that he will surpass that total. The injury was something we weren't really acquainted with. It had never happened here before.

“There was no cure other than time, and I am sure that must have been a concern for Paul. We were concerned, but we were hopeful. We sent him to the best people and if you do that you always have the best chance of recovery.

“He's a low-key personality. It's been well-documented in the past that he is happy to have the family life. That's important to him.

“There are few players in modern football that choose that. We're in a need-to-be-seen era, but he is a person – and so, too, are Gary and Ryan for that matter – where profile and attention doesn't concern him. It's not something he needs or desires.”


On a possible return for Heinze:

“Gabby is a warrior. He is a player who sets out to have a personal battle with anyone who comes into his area. He creates that competition with whoever his opponent is, that is what motivates him. He is a natural defender, who likes defending.

“When we play little games at the end of a Friday training session, Fabien Barthez and Peter Schmeichel used to love playing centre forward and it is the same with some centre-halves. But Gabby plays at the back all the time. You never see him up there, trying to score goals. He loves being a defender.”


And a bizarre comment – given how little he's actually played him – on Park's loss through injury:

“Ji-Sung is probably one of the most under-rated players I have ever had at this club. The players love him, even all the staff say 'you can't leave Park Ji-sung out of your team'. He has become a very important player.”