Boss Salutes Spot Kickers

Sir Alex Ferguson praised his cool, confident and capable players after their prowess at penalties won his third League Cup as United manager.

Spot-kicks seemed inevitable when Cristiano Ronaldo crashed a shot against the post in the final seconds of normal time; tired opponents Tottenham seemed content to play out the extra 30 minutes, bar one attack when Ben Foster saved from Darren Bent with his feet. But Foster's best moment was still to come - stopping Jamie O'Hara's penalty for Spurs.

"Ben Foster made a fantastic first save which gave us a big lift," said Sir Alex. "He's so quick, brave and strong. I think he'll be England's next goalkeeper for many years.

"And while he had a great day, our players took their penalties very confidently."

Appropriately for St David's Day, it was the Welsh wizard Ryan Giggs who converted the first penalty in off the post. It followed his fine extra-time shift in central midfield, as a substitute for young Darron Gibson who had started and completed the 90 minutes.

"We had the experience of Scholes and Ferdinand, and then Giggs in extra-time and they didn't panic," said Sir Alex, assessing the important role of his senior players.

"Vidic also came on and stabilised the team. That's what experienced players do.

"Much of the pre-match focus was on the young players to whom Sir Alex had promised a place in the starting line-up - especially Gibson and Danny Welbeck; less so Jonny Evans who, according to the boss, has already "proved himself time and time again."

"When I took Danny off ten minutes into the second half, I said to him, 'You can be proud of your first final.' It will give him the drive and the incentive to play in more," said Sir Alex.

The manager was clearly proud that his policy of playing young players in every round of the Carling Cup had paid off handsomely.

"The end-product you always hope for is to win the competition. It's great for the young players because they've experienced something that young players seldom get the opportunity to do."

While Sir Alex enjoyed collecting his latest trophy - his 24th as Reds boss, even if you exclude his Community Shields - his thoughts are already turning to the next league game, away to Newcastle United on Wednesday night.

"To be honest, I could have done without that extra time and I expect Tottenham will be saying the same because we've both got tough games on Wednesday.

"I'll have to freshen up, obviously, because the league and also the Champions League are still the priorities.

"Newcastle will be a very tough game for us. I love the atmosphere of that ground, they've got great support up there. We'll have to make sure we're ready, energised and fresh for that one."