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Ryan Giggs
Just champion: Ryan Giggs celebrates

Giggs: The hard work starts all over again

Ken Lawrence
12 May 2008


The bad news for Avram Grant and his deflated Chelsea players only got worse in the wake of another League title for Manchester United, as Ryan Giggs warned that the hard work starts now.

Giggs collected the killer goal as he equalled Sir Bobby Charlton's club record of 758 appearance - and collected his tenth winner's medal at the same time following the 2-0 win over Wigan.

While Grant's team licked their wounds, Giggs reckoned he might have some of his own to handle as he indicated the determination of Sir Alex Ferguson's team to complete a double in the Champions League Final on 21 May.

He said: "In the next week we'll be kicking lumps out of each other to make the team for Moscow.

"When we get back to training for the Champions League final everybody in the squad will be bidding for a place and that includes me. Just because I have managed to achieve what I have means nothing when it comes to the line-up for the final with Chelsea.

"The final, literally, will be a whole new ball game and with everybody fit and desperate to play, the last thing that will be happening is that we relax after winning the title.

"Far from it. Becoming champions again is good for the team, it is good psychologically. And if I were in Chelsea's shoes right now I reckon I would be down.

"But the celebrations will be over pretty quickly for us. We need to get ready for the final."

Giggs and veteran team-mate Paul Scholes have already been told by Ferguson that they will play in Moscow, and the winger sees more bad news ahead for his team's rivals in the future.

He added: "Whatever we achieve this season will only be a start - this team has now won two titles and is in the final of the Champions League but that is really only a start. We will go on to bigger and better things."

United could well have ended the season as runners-up rather than champions if not for the 'horrific' performance of referee Steve Bennett.

That was how Wigan boss Steve Bruce described Bennett's efforts after he failed to award a penalty for handball against Rio Ferdinand when the score was 0-0 and failed to send off Scholes when United were leading 1-0.

Cristiano Ronaldo put United ahead with a penalty of his own - his 31st League goal of the season - before Giggs capped a wonderful afternoon for him by adding a second.

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