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Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex fears the Chelsea supermen

Ken Dyer, Football Correspondent, in Moscow
20 May 2008


Sir Alex Ferguson today identified the physical presence of Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack as the main danger to his dream of winning a second Champions League.

The Manchester United manager knows Chelsea's three supermen have the potential to out-muscle his young team in tomorrow's final here and has been making special plans in training.

Ferguson said: "Chelsea are a physically stronger team than most of the Premier League, but we don't need to match that.

"You have to pay attention to players like Drogba, while Lampard and Ballack are strong lads - if we don't then we won't win - but we have been working on it in our preparation. We need to play with our strengths, passing, movement, creating chances."

Although Ferguson conceded that Chelsea are the more experienced of the two teams with players such as Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho and Claude Makelele having won the UEFA showpiece with previous clubs, he insists United won't be overawed.

He said: "Maybe my players don't have the overall experience of Chelsea but they have the nerve, the courage.

"This is my fourth European final so the one person who shouldn't be nervous is myself."

Survivors of the Munich air tragedy were gathering in Moscow today for the game and Ferguson said: "We're proud of the fact we represent that history of the club and we won't let them down."

Ferguson said he would announce his team to the players tomorrow and would confirm only that centre-half defender Nemanja Vidic was fit and would play.

He added: "I have my team in mind and I'll tell the players tomorrow afternoon. It's not easy but I think it's the right time."

United have only beaten Chelsea twice in the last 14 meetings and Ferguson said: "You've mentioned my record, it's a bad one but I trust my players to do the job."

Ferguson is determined to secure the trophy after admitting United's continental record is a "weakness" for a club of their size.

United have won the competition only twice, a record dwarfed by Real Madrid's nine European Cups and Liverpool's five.

Ferguson said: "There is a weakness in the European trophies we've won and I hope we can go some way to making that better tomorrow night.

"We have had 10 days' good preparation, it has helped staff more than the players, it's a long season and we all feel the strains and stresses of it.

"It's given the players the opportunity to do some serious work on the training field and we're in our best shape for this game."

Ferguson believes he will have a stronger bench available than he did for last season's FA Cup Final where they lost to Chelsea after extra-time.

"With seven substitutes you hope at least three will have an impact," he said.

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