GREEDY JAVI WON’T PICK AND CHOOSE
WATFORD v FULHAM KO 7.45PM
JAVI GRACIA wants to reach the FA Cup final AND finish seventh – because picking one ahead of the other is “like choosing between mum and dad”.
Watford’s head coach (below) is refusing to prioritise the cup ahead of finishing as the Premier League’s ‘best of the rest’, as he approaches the biggest five days of his career.
The Hornets will send Fulham down tonight with a win at Vicarage Road, while Gracia’s side face Wolves at Wembley on Sunday, one step from only the second major final in their 138-year history.
And Watford’s boss makes no apologies for wanting success in both league and cup.
He said: “It’s like mum or dad – I don’t want to choose between them. I like them both, and I want to fight for both – and we can do it.
“I don’t want to say no to finishing seventh, or playing in a final. Why do I have to choose only one? We have a squad capable of fighting for both.”
Gracia accepts he is going to break some hearts when he names his semi-final lineup. The Spaniard has made up to 11 changes in previous rounds, although his only concession to full strength at Wembley is likely to be picking veteran keeper Heurelho Gomes (in action in quarter-final win over Crystal Palace, above) ahead of Premier League first-choice Ben Foster.
Gracia said: “It will be difficult but, for every game, it is not easy to select 18 or 19 names, and leave five or six players off the list. “But it is my job and I try to be fair with all of them.”
Scott Parker warns there will be no quick fixes for Fulham in the Championship next season. Despite no news on his future, interim Cottagers boss Parker revealed he is already involved in planning for next season.
He said: “Short fixes get you there, but don’t always keep you there, so we need a more long-term view.
“Entire clubs change with relegation. Probably the biggest thing is that planning is going on now.” OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has set his Manchester United players a target of 15 points to secure a Champions League spot.
United have seven Premier League games left and newlyappointed permanent boss Solskjaer reckons a total of 76 points will clinch a top-four place.
When Solskjaer took over from Jose Mourinho in December, United were 11 points adrift of fourth, with seemingly no hope of qualifying for the Champions League.
But a remarkable haul of 35 points from 42, the best in the Premier League since he took charge, has put United right back in the mix with Tottenham,
Arsenal and Chelsea. Tonight United travel to Wolves, where they lost in the FA Cup a fortnight ago, with Solskjaer challenging his players to put their foot down.
“I don’t think I have to remind them of that defeat,” he said.
“They know themselves they want to be in the Champions League, they want to perform as
well as they possibly can. Maybe they didn’t believe it themselves in November or December last year, that we’re in with a chance.
“But everyone knows now if we do our jobs, say 15 points in the last seven games, we’ll be in the Champions League next year.
“It’s all about mindset, the same mindset we had at the start. It’s now the last stretch. Seven games to go, it’s not a time to change.
“We’re not going to work too much on fitness, as we haven’t got the time for it. It’s mindset, going into the game thinking we’re going in to win this game.
“Against Watford (United celebrating Anthony Martial’s winner, left), the first game of something new, we didn’t get going until 15 or 20 minutes into the game, but I’m not worried about that. There’s so many nice games to look forward to.”
As well as beating United and Liverpool in the FA Cup, Wolves have also beaten Chelsea and Spurs in the league, while drawing with Manchester City and United earlier in the season.
Despite a 2-0 defeat for Wolves at Burnley on Saturday, and with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side in FA