Lions £8,000 a man, Utd £24,000

Millwall's players will receive bonuses of up to £8,000 each if they pull off the biggest shock in FA Cup Final history tomorrow.

Dennis Wise's First Division team face Manchester United knowing that the gap in incentives between the two sides will be almost as large as the difference in their respective league positions.

It is believed that United players are guaranteed at least three times as much as their Millwall counterparts - figures that highlight the huge divide between the Premiership and the Nationwide leagues. Millwall's individual win bonuses are worth less than a 10th of Roy Keane's weekly wage of £80,000.

Fortunately for the prospects of Wise's team, the disparity has not disrupted preparations for the biggest game in the club's history.

Chairman Theo Paphitis said: "The players agreed the bonuses with the previous management at the start of the season and, as far as I am concerned, that is the end of it.

"No-one should even be thinking about this. It is not about money, it is about the greatest day in Millwall's history and the greatest cup competition in the world."

Any win bonuses would be drawn from the £2million prize money Millwall would receive for winning the Cup. Should they lose, they will still receive £1m from the FA - and are contracted to supplement the players' wages by up to £4,000 each.

Millwall's players agreed the bonus scheme last summer when they thought they had no hope of becoming the first players in the club's history to reach the Cup Final.

Some did not even check the amounts, because they have had such little success in the competition, and concentrated on the incentives for league success.

Paphitis says he cannot increase the bonuses after their unexpected success because of contract rules. But he has promised a holiday for the squad and their families and other bonuses next season.

Meanwhile, South Wales police have urged fans to get to the game early tomorrow because of thorough security checks. Heightened concerns over terrorism throughout the UK mean fans with bags will be searched.

Superintendent Jeff Farrar said: "Increased security measures on FA Cup Final day mean that if you bring a bag, you are more likely to be searched when entering the stadium."

A spokesman for South Wales Police said: "There will be more officers than last year, but this has nothing to do with the presence of the two teams. We will have a special operation in place from Friday lunchtime, but have had no intelligence to indicate a public order problem."