Wigan midfielder Graham Kavanagh believes a shock Carling Cup final victory is on the cards if Paul Jewell’s side "get in the faces" of Manchester United.

Kavanagh appreciates United are red-hot favourites to lift the 17th major piece of silverware under boss Sir Alex Ferguson in the Cardiff showdown.

But he insists: "Every dog has its day, and hopefully ours is tomorrow."

The Republic of Ireland international reckons Wigan have what it takes to lift the trophy despite United’s array of stars.

"We feel we can win it, without a shadow of a doubt," Kavanagh said. "We’ve nothing to fear, even though they beat us convincingly at Old Trafford earlier in the season.

"But our place in the final is fully justified after our performance in the semi against Arsenal, in particular with them showing us huge respect in the second leg by playing their top players.

"United have also shown us respect over the last few weeks with the number of scouts they have sent to watch us, while Alex Ferguson has also looked on.

"The key for us is restricting their opportunities because the likes of Van Nistelrooy, Rooney, Saha and Giggs can take their chances.

"When you play against those players, on any given day, at any given second they can come up with a flash of inspiration, a piece of skill or trickery that can bamboozle you.

"We will probably get two, three or four in the whole game, and we have to take one of them when it comes.

"We also can’t afford to get sucked in by the occasion. It’s vital we’re not standing in the middle of the Millennium Stadium thinking ‘this is great’.

"We have to approach it like any other game and face the opposition head on, try and get in their faces, disrupt them and impose our own strengths.

"If we can do that then we feel we have a chance, and hopefully we will be able to get our hands on the trophy."

Growing up a Liverpool fan, one of Kavanagh’s worst memories is seeing the Reds stunningly lose the 1988 FA Cup final to rank outsiders Wimbledon.

Now the Dubliner can draw on that kind of game for inspiration, adding: "You have to take encouragement from something like that.

"I think there will be a lot of neutrals out there looking for us to turn United over. The amount of phone calls I’ve had, with best wishes from different people, has been amazing.

"It’s nice to know the rest of the country, those who aren’t United fans, are on our side.

"We all want to show the world how good we are individually and collectively.

"If we can win it then the rest of the footballing world might take a great deal more notice of Wigan as a football club."