Ferguson on high and in winning mood

SOCCER PREMIER LEAGUE   WHEN ALEX FERGUSON won the first of his 10 championships the party at Steve Bruce's house lasted until…

SOCCER PREMIER LEAGUE  WHEN ALEX FERGUSON won the first of his 10 championships the party at Steve Bruce's house lasted until 6am and the following night Ryan Giggs slept on Clayton Blackmore's floor, waking up fully clothed "covered with white cat hairs".

A three-day session concluded at Chester Races, with Giggs wearing the same clothes. "The celebrations were the best I've ever known," he recalled. "They carried on for days."

There was nothing so raucous at Old Trafford on Sunday night as the players convened for an end-of-season dinner. Giggs could be seen sipping mineral water and even if the players were in high spirits, playfully booing Cristiano Ronaldo as he accepted the Matt Busby player-of-the-season award, Ferguson had made it clear he did not want anyone overdoing it.

The players were given yesterday off but today he expects them to be bright and breezy. "Tuesday morning," he said, "will be the start of winning the European Cup." It was a bold statement but Ferguson could be forgiven for believing that the events of the weekend, when United held off Chelsea's challenge to move within one of Liverpool's haul of 18 titles, will give his team "the bounce and confidence" to overcome the world's most expensively assembled side at the Luzhniki Stadium in eight days' time.

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"The mood generated by winning the league puts us in a very confident position," he said. "I expect my players to have the ability and confidence to play on the biggest stage in the world. Of that, I have absolutely no doubt."

His dilemma, he said, would be selecting which players to leave out and it was here that Ferguson's expression changed and the smile was replaced by a shake of the head. He has already promised Paul Scholes a place, whereas the back four is established and the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney are mandatory first-team picks. Giggs cannot be guaranteed a starting role and Ferguson is acutely aware that some of the players who have helped United reach the final will have to watch in their suits. "The hardest part won't be leaving players out of the team, it will be leaving players off the bench," he said.

"We had 26 players with us at Wigan. One of them, Ben Foster, is ineligible to play in Moscow. The other 25 can, so work it out. That means seven can't be involved in Moscow. And that's where the heartache comes in."

It could be bad news for Darren Fletcher, Gary Neville, John O'Shea and maybe Anderson given that none of them made it on to the subs' bench for Sunday's 2-0 win at Wigan. There are tough decisions to be made, although Ferguson has never shied away from his responsibilities.

"In Barcelona (1999) it wasn't too bad because Paul Scholes and Roy Keane were suspended and Henning Berg was injured," he recalled. "But in Rotterdam (1991) I had to leave out my son Darren and that wasn't easy."

It was the one note of regret as Ferguson held court, a skilled raconteur with a story for everyone, eulogising his players and covering his face with his hands as he talked about how their desire to win sometimes boiled over in training. "There are Friday mornings when I find myself telling Carlos Queiroz, 'Come on, cut the session'. The players are so competitive I'm frightened that someone will get injured."

There was a knowing grin as he reflected on his "team talk" for the Bolton Wanderers players ahead of their 1-1 draw at Chelsea. Ferguson, a famed exponent of mind games, had questioned Bolton's attitude, falsely accusing them of being "out all week" celebrating their Premier League survival. It had looked, conspicuously, like a premeditated attempt to provoke a response and Ferguson did not try to deny it. "I had a little nibble at them, to keep their minds alert," he acknowledged. "I had a text from Gary Megson on Sunday night and it said, 'Well done, your team talk was brilliant'. So I think they used what I'd said. I'm very pleased."

Guardian Service