Fighting talk from Ferguson

DEFIANT Alex Ferguson shrugged off talk of Manchester United as a club in crisis and instead declared the humiliating defeat at Middlesbrough will be the making of his young team.

Ferguson stepped off the plane ahead of United’s first competitive trip to Paris having already declared the topic of Roy Keane’s scrapped MUTV interview off limits in typically forceful fashion before departure.

A few other major subjects of discussion quickly joined the list of items to be avoided as Ferguson looked ahead to tonight’s Champions League encounter with Lille - the matter of Rio Ferdinand’s poor form and suggestions he is presiding over a club in disarray.

The questions were deflected with enough force to prevent further examination, yet in a manner befitting a man at ease with the world, a position completely at odds with that of his team.

“We are the biggest club ever, on this planet and in the universe, don’t worry about that,” he announced, when asked what a likely attendance of 70,000 - a record for a European game in France - said about United’s status in the world game.

With that, Ferguson was off, having circumvented the whole issue of an attack by Keane so fierce it was pronounced too blunt to broadcast, yet at the same time giving his own take on one of United’s worst performances in recent memory.

“What happened on Saturday helps the young players understand what being at Manchester United is all about,” he said.

“You learn things from winning or losing games 1-0, but when you get belted 4-1, it is different.

“Yet the experience some of them are having at the moment will be good for them. Hopefully, it will help them and make them become men.”

Absorbing such intense criticism as United’s players have faced over the past three days is easy for no-one. Ferguson became immune by taking huge amounts of flak during his early, trophyless years at Old Trafford.

And as he cannot stop it, he has decided there is no point even trying.

“Why get your drawers in a twist about it,” he smiled. “The media want something on Manchester United for the front page, something for the back page, something for the middle and something for the comic strip as well if they can. It just tells you about the fascination people have for this football club.

“But I do not believe the pressure of managing this club is any different to that which existed when I joined in 1986. The need to win has always been there and when you lose, everyone is disappointed.

“There is a lot of soul searching involved when you have a bad result or a bad performance. The players have their pride - they wouldn’t be here if they didn’t.

“Like myself, they probably spent Sunday watching the video, analysing every kick of the ball and thinking about the whole game again. That is what you do when you lose.”

Although he was not prepared to discuss Ferdinand’s individual performance, or the possibility his €42.5 million record signing would have been dropped if his squad was not so short on numbers, Ferguson made a statement about his private thoughts on the 27-year-old by confirming Ruud van Nistelrooy as his captain.

There have been times when Ferdinand has skippered United teams containing Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, who all miss out tonight, but the withdrawal of that privilege coincided with the former Leeds man’s much-publicised contract dispute. And although the deal has been signed, Ferguson’s forgiveness is less easy to win.

Ferdinand is at least assured of his place, and it is looking likely Wes Brown will be his central defensive partner in a reshaped defence that will see John O’Shea and Mikael Silvestre occupy the full-back berths.

Kieran Richardson appears to have been earmarked for the midfield slot left free by Scholes’ suspension, with Cristiano Ronaldo edging out Park Ji-Sung.

Having failed to win their two matches prior to the Middlesbrough debacle - including a bruising first encounter with Lille which finished goalless - United’s confidence is bound to be shaky.

But rather than get the big stick out and batter a response out of his team, as Keane appears to have attempted, Ferguson is instead looking to coax a return to form by urging his players to recapture the carefree days of their youth. “This is the Champions League,” he said. “It is still the greatest stage of all and I want my team to enjoy themselves. When we all started playing football as kids, it was because we enjoyed it. That feeling should never leave you.