We live for these moments

After all that was said and done in the build-up to our two-legged Carling Cup semi-final with Manchester City, the best team won.

I would have loved to have played in both games but it wasn't to be. It was a great atmosphere on Wednesday at Old Trafford, and it was always going to be after all the tension that was created over the past couple of weeks.

I thought we controlled both games for large periods. Don't get me wrong, City had a couple of periods of pressure in both matches, but I think we generally outplayed them over two legs. Wayne Rooney, Darren Fletcher and Paul Scholes were fantastic in our 3-1 victory on Wednesday, while Ryan Giggs' delivery for the final goal was outstanding. Quite simply, we deserved to win the tie.

Our assistant manager Mike Phelan said it was our best performance of the season on Wednesday, and it was certainly our most emotive performance, particularly in the second half when the stadium was rocking. It was a true Manchester United night - clubs like ours can deliver nights like that. It is very difficult to create those kind of atmospheres at every ground, but we can do it at Manchester United.

We get these magic atmospheres on big European nights, and we have seen them against Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea over recent years. A couple of times a season the ground simply erupts and the atmosphere was just absolutely electric on Wednesday. Manchester United players, fans and coaches live for those moments.

People talk about the money side of football, but moments like Rooney's last minute winner on Wednesday night are why we dedicate our lives to football.

I'd say that in the second half it was probably our most intense display of the season. Carlos Tevez got a very good goal for City, but defensively we did well. We had intent all over the pitch and our attacking play was brilliant. We had some unbelievable chances, particularly from Rooney and Michael Carrick. If we had won the game 4-1 on the night I don't think anyone could complain, although us scoring in the last minute obviously added to the drama. The right team will be competing in the final on February 28 against Aston Villa.

The semi-final victory sets us up nicely for the next few weeks, starting with the Arsenal game today. That said, I wrote a few weeks ago when we had a few bad results that we don't get carried away by any situation, good or bad. Of course, the players were on a high after Wednesday's game, but the reality quickly kicks in. The lads who played get in the ice baths, on the massage table and on the bikes the morning after a game. The lads who didn't play get out on the training pitch. We turn our attention to the next game in the knowledge that we can't get too carried away.

Sum of our parts

Wayne Rooney has been brilliant this season, which has led some people to say we are over-reliant on him. People said we over-relied on Cristiano Ronaldo last season, and they said the same about Eric Cantona and Roy Keane when they were here. It happens over the years because these are special players who can produce fantastic performances that win matches. It doesn't annoy us, because Rooney is part of our team.

Other teams get the same accusation levelled at them - Arsenal get it with Cesc Fabregas and Liverpool get it with Fernando Torres. It is not something we can afford to think about. Rooney and the rest of us recognise that it's a team sport in which all players are important.

Apart from Rooney's form, having players like Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Edwin Van Der Sar, Wes Brown and Jonny Evans fit again is crucial for us because they are the backbone of our team and their injuries have caused us problems. The players who came in did a good job, but any team would miss players of that quality, particularly when they're all out at once. Reality shows that when we get these type of players fit, it improves our performances and breeds confidence throughout the team, which is really important in the latter part of the season.

The future's bright

There may have been talk about the lack of big signings at United recently, but the manager is always planning and he's signed Mame Diouf from Norway and Chris Smalling from Fulham in recent weeks. Everything is very immediate in football and the talk is always about the results last week or last night, but beyond that talk is a manager and a club with a long-term vision. We are a club that has always based its future around young players and we are continuing to do that. You can see that in our signings in the past few weeks.

Leaders, managers

It is no coincidence that lots of former Manchester United players have gone into management. Over the past 10 to 15 years, the manager has ensured we have had some great on-field leaders, so it's been a natural progression for them to then go into management because the qualities are engrained into them.

Sometimes the best players don't make the best managers, but people like Roy Keane, Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and Steve Bruce have been match-winners and leaders for United, so they were always candidates to go into management because of their character and leadership qualities.

Keane, Robson and Bruce were obviously going to go into management. Ince and Hughes were less obvious, but not to the point where you thought they'd never become managers. They had the same qualities of setting an example on and off the pitch and they have taken those qualities into management.

In the current squad, it's very difficult to say who will go into management. You look at people who are quite intelligent like Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs as players who might consider it. Giggs has huge experience, commands great respect, and has a real love for the game. Meanwhile, Carrick and Fletcher have the kind of game intelligence that could make them good managers one day.

I don't think anybody, even players who are 34 or 35, are thinking about management just yet. We're so engrossed as football players that we haven't got the time. Don't get me wrong, players do obtain coaching qualifications to prepare for when they're retired, but I don't think anyone has seriously made a decision to become a manager, at least not that I'm aware of.

I don't have any concrete plans about management at present. I'm not so sure management is something I want to go in to, but until the time comes and the opportunities arrive I won't really know.

Send your questions to Gary Neville to sunday@timesofmalta.com.