Ruud chooses his words carefully after being dropped

Soccer News round-up: Ruud van Nistelrooy spoke for the first time last night about being dropped from Manchester United's team for the League Cup final. Choosing his words carefully, the striker admitted it had been a "great disappointment" but tried to play down any suggestion that it might damage his relationship with Alex Ferguson.

Van Nistelrooy has returned to the Netherlands to play in a friendly against Ecuador tomorrow and, having made little attempt to disguise his feelings in the Millennium Stadium, he made it clear he was surprised to learn that Ferguson had omitted him in favour of Louis Saha. "I don't want to say too much about what happened because I am here to play for Holland," he said. "But, yes, it goes without saying that I'm disappointed, as any footballer would be."

Ferguson had explained his decision to demote van Nistelrooy because of Saha's record of having scored in every round of the competition. Van Nistelrooy is understood to have struggled to accept that, believing his own goals record should have made him a mandatory first-team choice. But he is opting for diplomacy rather than saying anything that could be regarded as criticism of Ferguson. "I can understand his reasons for playing Louis," he said. "I know why he did it.

"There's no rift between me and anyone. I scored a lot of goals and I've been doing well, so I hope I am back for the next match. I expect to play in Premiership games."

Van Nistelrooy's obvious dejection in Cardiff has led to speculation about his future but his team-mates believe he will stay at United.

"The manager has to make tough decisions," said John O'Shea. "He left Ruud out this time but next week he could be back in and might leave Louis out. He might even leave Wayne (Rooney) out. You just get on with it and I'm sure that's what Ruud will do.

"He's a great professional. He'll work his socks off with Holland and probably get a hat-trick and come back buzzing. He's an amazing player and there's no way we want Ruud to leave, no way."

Van Nistelrooy rejected comments that he looked unhappy throughout United's 4-0 victory over Wigan: "I celebrated the goals with everyone else. If I was acting I must be one of the best actors in Holland."

Ryan Giggs has put himself forward as the midfield maestro United have been missing this season. The Wales winger won hearty plaudits from Ferguson after acting as the conductor on Sunday.

In a central midfield starved of creativity through Paul Scholes' loss of form and injury and Roy Keane's departure, Giggs has emerged as the man capable of choreographing attacks from a deeper position. "I've really enjoyed it," he said.

"Hopefully I can finish the season strong because I think I will be playing there in a lot more games. I've played central when I was younger and it's always been something I've tried to add to my game, so I feel comfortable in there. You see a lot more of the ball; you have to do a lot more defending but you can have a bigger impact on the game."

Even at 32, Giggs knows he will have to acquire new skills - "when to take people on, when to pass and defensive duties. I'm not one who is going to be a destroyer but I can get on the ball, I can pass, I can run from deep."

Meanwhile, there was a time when Sven-Goran Eriksson would be guaranteed a standing ovation simply for decorating English football with his presence. Early in his employment with the Football Association he would turn up at White Hart Lane or Villa Park and people would turn their backs to the pitch to clap him to his seat. Everything seemed so innocent back then, as if this polite, bespectacled man could do no wrong.

Tomorrow, in far more strained circumstances, Eriksson will face the tribal gathering of an England match for the first time since his indiscreet dealings with a pretend sheikh in Dubai led to writs being served on the News of the World and a hasty arrangement with the FA to sever all ties after the World Cup. Anfield may even have more anti-Sven spectators than pro-Sven for the visit of Uruguay, judging by the froth of moral indignation engulfing the online Sack the Swede petitions.

"The general public have this perception of him now," Paul Robinson, the England goalkeeper, said yesterday, shaking his head in apparent sympathy. "For me, it's the worst thing about football. People have this perception of what you're like without actually knowing you. And the only way they get that perception is because of what is built up in the media and shown on television. If people actually knew the manager they would know what a nice man he really is."

Robinson, the archetypal straight-talking Yorkshireman, went on to question why the News of the World had devoted so much time and money to causing "disruption" so close to the World Cup. "It came as a shock to everybody," he said. "We couldn't believe it to start with. This is the first time we have been together as a squad since it happened so I'm sure the manager will talk to us and tell us his thoughts and feelings. But it's a difficult situation he was put in. It was a difficult situation for the players as well, but I don't think anyone will be holding it against him."