Fergie lauds golden oldies

Alex Ferguson counts himself lucky to have worked with Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs throughout their stellar careers.

Both men head into Manchester United’s Premier League encounter with Wigan at Old Trafford today on the brink of significant personal landmarks.

Scholes’ next United appearance will be his 700th, a figure exceeded only by Giggs and Bobby Charlton.

And if Giggs plays some part against the Latics, he would become the first man to appear in 600 Premier League matches.

It is a quite remarkable effort. And the fact they both play for the same team just makes it more astonishing.

“They will always produce quality,” said Ferguson.

“They could be playing in 10 years’ time in former players’ games and still show the fantastic flair they have for the game.

“I am very lucky to have them.

“It is not a matter of having pride in them, it is a case of saying to myself I have been lucky to have had two devoted players like that. They have been brilliant.”

Giggs’ contribution so far has been limited to just nine minutes of action as a substitute against Fulham last month.

Scholes, however, has made more of an impact.

Indeed, whilst Robin van Persie claimed all the headlines for his match-winning hat-trick at Southampton immediately before the international break, the Dutchman himself felt Scholes deserved the credit.

It was not an assessment Ferguson disagreed with.

“When Paul came on against Southampton it was like opening a door to another room,” said Ferguson.

“He just brought order to the game.

“His selection of passes and accuracy of his passes changed the whole thing for us.

“He was phenomenal. Southampton just didn’t know what to do with him.”

It seems likely that both Scholes and Giggs will be involved tomorrow.

Darren Fletcher will be there as well, even if Ferguson has selected his fellow Scot in the United squad more to provide a timely confidence boost as he nears a first-team comeback from the chronic bowel condition that threatened his entire career.

Less sure of their places are goalkeeping duo David de Gea and Anders Lindegaard.

Though De Gea started the season impressively against Everton, he looked shaky in that narrow win over Fulham, and Lindegaard took over for the trip to Southampton.

However, whilst Lindegaard looks more solid under physical pressure, he does not boast De Gea’s agility, leaving Ferguson somewhat perplexed.

“I haven’t made my mind up about the goalkeepers,” he said.

“Both are capable but both have got lessons to learn in the English game.

“One thing’s for sure, one of them is going to play.”

Ferguson reported a clean bill of health from the members of his squad who went away for internationals.

That means Van Persie, Shinji Kagawa and Jonny Evans have all recovered from knocks.

It would not be unusual for Ferguson to be playing a game though, and none of them can guaranteed to be fit until United hand their team-sheet in an hour before kick-off.

The same could also be said of Wayne Rooney, even though Ferguson insists recovery from the gashed thigh he suffered against Fulham is not imminent.

“Rooney is doing very well,” he said.

“The scar has healed well. He is training with the physios and has been terrific.

“The issue will be when to put him into a game.

“We will have to take the medical advice on that.”