1) He has said 4th place was like a trophy:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...l-fourth-place
2) At the start of the season they're lower down in the list of priorities, but once you've got to the semis/finals, you shouldn't be resting players. I know Syn says we didn't really do that after the CC final loss to Chelsea, but I remember that the Carling Cup semi final against Tottenham had a fair number of second teamers playing, and in the FA Cup against Chelsea, he inexplicably decided to rest Arshavin who was on top form at the time.