Wednesday 22 February 2017 10:04, UK
Fraser Forster says Southampton will look to strike the balance between defence and attack in their EFL Cup final against Manchester United on Sunday.
Southampton are looking for only the second major trophy in their history at Wembley on Sunday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 3.45pm.
Goalkeeper Forster says Saints sat back more than they would have liked in the semi-final second-leg win at Liverpool in January, and that defending for 90 minutes against Jose Mourinho's side would be difficult.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Forster said: "It's always hard. In the Liverpool game we probably ended up sitting in more than we wanted in reality, but when you come up against that calibre of team, Manchester United are similar with a lot of ball possession and a lot of quality players. If you go expansive, it gives them the opportunity and more space to work.
"Equally, it's hard to go the other way and defend for 90 minutes, and try to hit them on the counter. It's the manager's decision what we do, and we'll be 100 per cent at it when matchday comes."
Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is on fine form of late as he looks to win his first major trophy at the club, scoring five goals in his last four games and 24 times overall this term.
However, Forster says he won't be preparing any differently for the Swede, and says the quality runs throughout the United side.
Asked if Forster prepares himself for specific players, he said: "Not really. We've all seen a lot of Zlatan since he's come here and before that, we all know what a world-class player he is, but they've got world-class players in every position.
"You just prepare as if it was a league game against Man Utd, they've got quality all over the pitch, and it's too important to just get focused on one individual."
Southampton have had two weeks off having been knocked out of the Europa League and the FA Cup, and Forster says the extra preparation time has been a boost.
"If you look at the way the season has been for us, before Christmas we had European games and cup games, we've played pretty much every midweek, and January was a busy month, so it's not often you get a week out without a game," he said.
"It's come along, and it's probably given us the chance to get a couple of days rest that we needed due to the backlog, and hopefully it gives us the opportunity to get a couple of the lads fit, and gives us that time to prepare.
"It gives us a lot of time to work on what we need to, on every aspect of the game, before the final comes.
"It gives us a good window to work on what we need to, whichever philosophy the manager decides to go with."
Watch Manchester United v Southampton in the EFL Cup final on Sky Sports 1 from 3.45pm on Sunday, and follow our live blog from 9am on SkySports.com.
