The editorial team for ManUtd.com , United Review and Inside United provide regular updates from the home of the Reds...
Friday 14 September
15:01 You can watch a free one-minute clip of Sir Alex briefing the media at Carrington, simply by clicking the link on the left. The full eight-minute version is now available on-demand on MUTV Online and is being shown at various times on MUTV. More will be added to MUTV Online at 22:30 tonight, when the embargo on the second part of the press conference is lifted. (AB)
14:44 Sir Alex spoke highly of tomorrow's opponents at the press conference, praising Wigan from the boardroom to the dressing room. He predicts they could be a "club on the rise in the next few years." Look out for the full story later today. (AB)
14:18 I interviewed Rio Ferdinand today as Adam B mentioned an hour ago. The long-serving defender spoke about the busy spell of games coming up - including the start of the Champions League group stages - and also about life in Manchester in general. He's clearly relishing the prospect of getting back in action tomorrow against Wigan. (AM)
13:19 Milestone men Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand are speaking to our journalists as I type this - look out for quotes from them, and more from Sir Alex, in due course on ManUtd.com. If you weren't already aware, Ryan will clock up his 600th Premier League appearance if he plays tomorrow, while Rio is one game away from completing 400 United appearances. Paul Scholes can also claim a piece of personal history with his 700th senior outing for the Reds. (AB)
13:00 Although Sir Alex said earlier "everyone's fit" apart from Jones and Smalling, we're also expecting Wayne Rooney to miss the Wigan match - given he was expected to be out for four weeks when he was injured against Fulham on 25 August. (AB)
12:20 Here, as promised, are the main press conference points (NC):
Sir Alex on team news for the Wigan match: "On the injury front, everyone's fit, apart from the ones we know about - Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. Jones was a bad blow for us. He got an injury in training last weekend. He'll be out for 8-10 weeks. We expect Smalling to be back training inside a month. But with Jonny Evans now back we're in better shape at centre-back than we were a couple of weeks ago."
On players returning from internationals: "You always have concerns about players travelling [long distances] in international breaks - we had Chicharito, Valencia and Kagawa. They've all done it before, although with Shinji we don't know exactly how he reacts to travelling back from long distances. Hopefully he'll be okay."
On Darren Fletcher: "Darren's training well and played in the reserves on Tuesday night. The next step is when we can involve him in a game in the first team. He's in the squad tomorrow, simply because I think it will give him a boost. It's a chance to progress. At this moment in time everything's going fine for him. We understand the condition he has to deal with - that can change but hopefully he's managed to conquer it in terms of his diet and how he handles it. Things are going well at the moment."
On facing Liverpool next week after the Hillsborough report: "It shouldn't need what happened this week to change things [between United and Liverpool supporters]. Two great clubs, ourselves and Liverpool, should understand each other's problems. The fact we're playing them after the findings we've been reading about in the last few days does brings a focus to it. Both clubs have suffered such tremendous fatalities through football. Maybe it's a line in the sand now in terms of how supporters behave towards each other. The reputation of both clubs doesn't deserve trouble. You hope supporters of both teams support their club and that's the end of it."
On landmarks for Giggs [600 Premier League games], Scholes and Ferdinand: "My personal feeling is that Ryan can play for another couple of years. Paul's a different physical specimen to Ryan and he's had his injuries - two knee injuries, an eye injury - and yet he's playing his 700th game. It's phenomenal. Rio's playing his 400th game. It's a landmark for the three players and it's a great example to the younger players about what can be achieved if they sacrifice in football. These players have done that or they would never have got to this stage."
On the quest for clean sheets: "We're losing soft goals at the moment and we're going to address that as we did last year. Defending is every bit as important as the goals we're scoring. There are goals in our team, certainly but you have to balance that out. Do we have to score three to win every game? I don't want to go down that road. Hopefully we can keep Ferdinand and Vidic fit. That will help." (NC)
11:40 Our reporting team has landed at Carrington and is negotiating the building site as I type this, getting to various locations for interviews with players and, of course, Sir Alex's press conference. Look out for team news and other updates from around 12:15 when the briefing comes to a close - we're prohibiting from publishing when it's in progress. (AB)
11:33 Antonio Valencia's rightly being talked up ahead of his latest rematch with former employers Wigan Athletic. The in-form Ecuadorian winger has become a vital part of Sir Alex's line-up and a firm crowd favourite - remember how he waved to the fans when being stretchered off with a broken ankle in 2010? That game, a goalless draw with Rangers in the Champions League, was played two years ago today. (AB)
11:22 Happy anniversary, George Best... the dearly missed football genius made his Manchester United debut on this day in 1963, helping the Reds to beat West Brom 1-0 at Old Trafford. He will never be forgotten. (AB)
09:49 Good morning all - it's a quieter than normal start to Friday, with Sir Alex's pre-match press conference taking place at 12 midday. Thereafter, the news should flood through thick and fast, and we'll also be speaking to a couple of first-team players for their thoughts on a busy week ahead with games against Wigan, Galatasaray and Liverpool in the space of eight days. (AB)
