SIR ALEX FERGUSON yesterday cut short the
celebrations of his latest triumph to brace himself for what he
admits is the hardest part of football management.
Ferguson’s delight at
closing to within one championship of Liverpool’s record 18 titles
was tempered by thoughts of Moscow. Not so much which 11 of his
Manchester United players will start against Chelsea in the
Champions League final, or even the seven who will occupy the
substitutes’ bench. More those he will have to leave in their club
suits sitting high up in the stands of the Luzhniki Stadium.
The fact he has done it
many times before – even having to tell his own son Darren, now
Peterborough boss, that he hadn’t made the squad for the European
Cup Winners’ Cup final in Rotterdam in 1991 – does not make the
task any easier.
The decision-making is
also not helped by the fact he has at his disposal the strongest
squad he has ever assembled and so many international class
players, none of whom has let him down during the season.
“It’s terrible,” he
said, just hours after the win at Wigan that had completed the
first part of United’s bid for a Premier and Champions League
double. “The hardest part in Moscow won’t be leaving players out of
the team, it will be leaving players off the bench. “We had 26
players with us at Wigan. One of them, Ben Foster, is ineligible to
play in Moscow. The other 25 can play so think about it: it means
seven can’t even come into the squad. “That’s where the heartache
comes in but I’ve had to do it in the past. It wasn’t so bad in
Barcelona [in 1999] because Paul Scholes and Roy Keane were
suspended and Henning Berg was injured and that cut my options
down.
“But in Rotterdam [in
1991] I had to leave Neil Webb and my own son Darren out and that
wasn’t easy. Someone has to make the decision though and that’s the
manager’s job. But I’m not looking forward to it. “At Wigan on
Sunday, I couldn’t accommodate players like Anderson, John O’Shea
and Darren Fletcher on the bench. These are fantastic players and
it is not easy to explain to them. You hope they understand that it
is a squad game nowadays and they will all play their part.”
Ryan Giggs underlined
the competitiveness among United’s squad when he said that after
celebrating with each other at the club’s player of the year awards
dinner at Old Trafford on Sunday night they would be “kicking lumps
out of each other” on their return to training today in a bid to
win a place in the Moscow line-up.
Ferguson said he often
has to cut short practice games the day before a match for fear of
his players injuring themselves in their attempts to impress him
and his assistant Carlos Queiroz. “They all seem so hungry for
success and that is the thing that pleases you the most,” he said.
“It helps if the players are good characters so that gives you a
good head-start in terms of shaping their futures. And they will be
the future.
“Ryan Giggs, Paul
Scholes and Gary Neville have played a big part in helping them
settle into the club, making them understand what Manchester United
is all about. And you need that. “They [Giggs, Scholes and Neville]
will eventually be replaced by the players we have here in the late
20s. Having great continuity is a vital factor in how we shape
teams. “We have had to make changes over the years and that is not
easy simply because we always have to be at the top. But we are
fortunate. We have good boys, with good desire, and good talent –
and combine all that and it gives you a good chance.”
Ferguson added: “Once
we’ve finished our celebrations, we’ll get a rest on Monday, then
Tuesday morning will be the start of winning the European Cup. “Cup
finals are never easy and I expect a tough game. But I also expect
Manchester United to express themselves in the way we can. “We have
a great chance. The mood generated by the result at Wigan sees us
in a very confident position.
“Winning the title gives
us the bounce and confidence to go to Moscow and win.” First,
though, he has to have a word in the ear of seven unfortunate
players.
