Ferguson’s fighting talk
United tackle Jose Mourinho’s men at Old Trafford tonight, looking to salvage some pride from a league campaign that has turned horribly sour over the last couple of months.
The weekend draw with basement boys West Brom means the Red Devils have registered victories in just three of their last eight Premiership outings and only a mathematical improbability can now save them from heading into the Champions League qualifying round for the second summer in a row.
Ferguson was so annoyed at the latest dismal effort he labelled it “an embarrassment.” Yet he insists when the new campaign clicks into gear in August, United will provide a stern test for the champions.
“We don’t need to use this game to provide proof that we will be challenging Chelsea next season,” claimed Ferguson.
“There is nothing between the sides and they know fine well we will be one of their main challengers next season.
“They have deserved their title. Jose Mourinho has come in and built a very powerful team. But next season is already shaping up to be a very hard league.
“Liverpool will improve, as will Tottenham and then there you have Arsenal, Chelsea and ourselves. It could be quite exciting and we will definitely be amongst it.”
After finding the target with only one of their 27 shots against the Baggies, Ferguson knows a remedy must be found for United’s scoring ills if they are to provide a real threat to Chelsea tonight and beyond.
Badly disrupted campaigns for Ruud van Nistelrooy and Louis Saha have not helped, but aside from Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes, none of the Red Devils squad have scored more than six times in the Premiership this term.
For a side who, on paper, boast such an array of attacking talent, it is a shocking statistic and one Ferguson is not prepared to see repeated, although with little cash available this summer, the solutions appear to rest with his current squad.
The return of Van Nistelrooy from an ankle injury will be widely welcomed, particularly as United look ahead to their May 21 FA Cup final showdown in Cardiff.
Given his importance to United’s cause, it was no surprise Ferguson erred on the side of caution at the weekend having previously suggested Van Nistelrooy would play against West Brom.
“Ruud was not quite ready, so given the experience we had with his last injury, we felt it was better for him to train instead,” said Ferguson. “He was training on Saturday and Sunday, so he should be ready.”
Gary Neville will also return from suspension to add an abrasive edge that has been missing from United’s back four since Gabriel Heinze suffered ankle ligament damage in the win over Newcastle a fortnight ago.
A poor performance by John O’Shea in the West Brom draw could tempt Ferguson to play Mikael Silvestre at left-back, with Wes Brown slotting in alongside Rio Ferdinand to accommodate Neville’s return.
Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney and Roy Keane should also start in a team that will probably bear a close resemblance to the one Ferguson intends to field at the Millennium Stadium.
But no matter what the make up of the starting XI, long-serving winger Ryan Giggs knows a repetition of the profligacy that scarred Saturday’s game will simply not be tolerated.
“We have dropped 18 points so far against the bottom eight teams,” observed the winger. “That is just not good enough.
“Our results against the better teams prove the quality is there, what we have lacked is consistency. It was the same last season and we cannot let it happen again.
“Chelsea have raised the bar and we will have to improve if we are going to get the championship back,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck has insisted the new Premiership champions have not received the credit they deserve this season for their exemplary behaviour on the pitch.
Buck defended the Blues’ reputation during a season dogged by controversy and issued a thinly-veiled dig at Arsenal and United by pointing out that none of their players had either been sent off in the league or been guilty of “throwing pizza in the tunnel.”
Buck said: “We take football and doing the right thing by football very seriously at Chelsea. We have had our fair share of bad publicity this year, so let me shout about a few things that we have not received sufficient recognition for.
“We have not had one player sent off in the Premier League, we are top of the fair play table and no-one at our club, as far as I know, has thrown any pizza in the players’ tunnel.
“Even when we have been found guilty, as by UEFA after the Barcelona game, it later emerged that the facts were not as first painted.”
Jose Mourinho is likely to ring the changes against United and rest some of his regular first team players. Carlo Cudicini is almost certain to continue in goal while Didier Drogba may return in attack.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
