Source: PA
Cup exposure beneficial - Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson is convinced his youngsters will benefit from Wednesday's Carling Cup exposure at Scunthorpe - even if Manchester United end up on the wrong end of a shock.
United head to Glanford Park as Carling Cup holders, having disposed of Aston Villa at Wembley last season.
As they also defeated Tottenham in the showpiece 12 months earlier, it is clearly a piece of silverware Ferguson has begun to like, despite his tendency to use the competition to give the younger members of his squad a chance to shine.
Against the glory can be balanced unexpected defeats to Coventry and Southend, yet even on those dismal days, Ferguson found reasons to be positive.
"It allows me to keep everybody happy in terms of giving them games and reaching the last two finals has obvious advantages," he said.
"But, in retrospect, going out in the early rounds - like we did against Coventry and Southend - are good experiences, too, even if we would always prefer to win."
