The Carling Cup has had some great matches over the past couple of years and today's final between us and Aston Villa should be a great spectacle for everybody. It could be a very open game because both teams like to attack.
I don't think past games will have much bearing on today; it's a completely different event and both teams will be desperate to win.
Our manager has always used the Carling Cup as a breeding ground for young players and that could be the case today. Because of the importance of the semi-final against Manchester City he diverted from his usual policy, plus we had Danny Welbeck on loan and Federico Macheda injured. Who knows what the manager will do today? He may want to give some of the young players a chance or he may want to play his strongest team.
We have some fantastic young players coming through. I've played a lot in the Carling Cup over the past few years and witnessed them first hand. Players like Darren Gibson, Macheda, Welbeck, the Da Silva brothers and Gabriel Obertan have done very well in the Carling Cup. Jonny Evans also gained a lot of experience in this competition.
People might say that we field a weakened side, but these players would get in most Premiership teams. Our record in the competition over the past couple of years suggests we treat it just as seriously as other competitions. When the games come around, we want to win.
Everybody in the game realises that United is a club that breeds good young players. The list of players in the first team squad that have come through the youth system is huge; no other club could point to having so many players in their first team squad who came through their ranks. I think we do get credit for it and it is accepted throughout Europe that Manchester United have one of the great youth academies.
I think the Carling Cup has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years. I would say it's benefitted from the fact that it is played early in the season, and a lot of the games are played in January when the Champions League has stopped and the league is not thick and fast.
Our semi-final against Manchester City this year was a great tie and a fantastic spectacle, and I think many of the games in recent years have been the same. The final last year between ourselves and Spurs was also great to watch. Some people have described the Carling Cup as a poor relation to other competitions, but I think this competition has definitely enjoyed a resurgence.
Once you get to a final, it's absolutely crucial that you try and win it. I would say it is vital to our season because if we can get a trophy in our cabinet in February, it can give us confidence going into the crucial months in the league and Champions League. It would give us a great platform to build on for the rest of the season, but I'm sure Aston Villa will be thinking the same. We want to win everything at Manchester United, but we know we are facing difficult opponents who will be doing everything to stop us.
Can't afford to lose again
We didn't play well in our 3-1 defeat to Everton; it's as simple as that. We started well but made mistakes defensively which cost us the match and Everton deserved to win. It was disappointing because we could have gone top of the league and put pressure on Chelsea before they played, but it wasn't to be.
We played on Tuesday against West Ham and picked ourselves up straight away with a 3-0 victory. But we've now put ourselves in a position where we can't make any more mistakes throughout the rest of the season if we're going to chase Chelsea down.
After the game, people mentioned that we might have been tired from the game in Milan and that could potentially have had an effect. But over a season we have a big enough squad with enough quality and stamina, so I would never point to tiredness as an excuse for losing. You have to give credit to Everton; they were better than us on the day. We know when we go to Everton that their fans can give them a real lift when they have their tails up.
It's been a crazy season. If someone had told me at the start of the season that we would have lost six games by the end of February and still be one point off the top I probably wouldn't have believed them. In recent years teams have been winning the league by losing very few games. We lost six games and still won the league 12 years ago, but realistically we're now in a position where we can't afford to lose any more.
Our mentality has to be that we have to try and win every match. We need to close that gap as quickly as possible. We want to be in a position when we play Chelsea in April that we can go above them by beating them.
Over to you
How do you rate Manchester United's chances of winning all three competitions you are competing right now? Andreas Calleja, Luqa.
It is impossible to say in February what chance you have of winning honours; no player at any club would want to predict that. All I can say is that we will be going for every competition and hopefully we will take them. We are in a better position than most, but there is still much hard work to do.
Send your questions to Gary Neville to sunday@timesofmalta.com.