Source: Team_Talk
Fergie: Cup exposure is good test
Sir Alex Ferguson is convinced his youngsters will benefit from Carling Cup exposure at Scunthorpe - even if Manchester United get knocked out.[LNB] United head to Glanford Park on Wednesday night as Football League Cup holders, having disposed of Aston Villa at Wembley last season.[LNB]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.[LNB]Against the glory can be balanced unexpected defeats to Coventry and Southend. Yet even on those dismal days, Ferguson found reasons to be positive.[LNB]"The Carling Cup has served us well over the last few seasons," Ferguson told United's official website.[LNB]"It allows me to keep everybody happy in terms of giving them games and reaching the last two finals has obvious advantages.[LNB]"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."[LNB]There will be some experience in United's line-up this evening, notably Michael Owen, who is expected to make his first start of the season.[LNB]Rio Ferdinand's lack of recent match practice hints at an involvement as well if he has shaken off the virus that forced him to miss Sunday's win over Liverpool.[LNB]However, most interest will surround new arrival Bebe, who is pencilled in for some involvement after missing the reserve-team encounter at Bury on Tuesday night.[LNB]The 20-year-old arrived at Old Trafford via an unconventional route, with eyebrows raised at how a player who arrived at Vitoria Guimaraes on a free transfer after Portuguese third-tier outfit Estrela da Amadora failed to pay his wages, should suddenly be worth in excess of £7million even though he never played a competitive game.[LNB]In addition, Ferguson claimed the wide man's fitness levels were not high enough on his arrival at Old Trafford, having admitted he took a punt on Bebe without actually seeing him play.[LNB]That problem has seemingly been rectified, so Bebe is set to be exposed to the pressure of being a United player in a game Ferguson does not expect to be easy.[LNB]"They are a handful on their own ground," Ferguson told Key 103.[LNB]"We know what it will be like but we have experienced this kind of situation before and did well at Barnsley last year, so hopefully we can do the same again."