Fergie: I’ll do it my way on team choice

ALEX FERGUSON has no intention of letting any outside forces influence his Manchester United team selection.

Despite his club record £30.75 million (€34.5m) price tag, Ferguson still left Dimitar Berbatov out of his starting line-up to face Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final last Wednesday.

The uncertainty over Carlos Tevez’s United future will not save him either on Tuesday should Ferguson decide the Argentina star is not what he needs for the Champions League semi-final second leg at the Emirates Stadium.

It is part of a focus that has stood Ferguson in good stead throughout his career, most famously when he axed goalkeeper Jim Leighton for the 1990 FA Cup final replay with Crystal Palace after a miserable performance in the first game at Wembley.

And, no matter what the circumstances, Ferguson will not change.

“Players react differently,” said the United boss. “Some accept it, others find it hard. It depends on the nature of the personalities. But it doesn’t deflect me from picking what I feel is the correct team. In 1990, I made the right decision.

“You cannot think about how much a player costs when you are picking a team. Others might not agree with my choice and the recent FA Cup semi-final was a case in point. But I never allow anyone to cloud my judgement. I am very clear-minded about that.”

Ferguson is facing another predicament for the trip to Middlesbrough today, knowing he must keep an element of freshness in his squad for the Arsenal rematch.

The one obvious bit of good news is that Rio Ferdinand, while not fit enough to make the journey to Teesside, could make it to the Emirates after X-rays revealed the damage to his ribs suffered in a collision with Edwin van der Sar in midweek is not as extensive as first feared.

“When we saw him get a crack in the rib area, you fear the worst, particularly because he was coughing a bit of blood,” revealed Ferguson.

“Fortunately that has passed over now. He has a bit of bruising on the lung but there is nothing cracked or broken so there is a good chance we can get him ready for Tuesday.”

Jonny Evans will replace Ferdinand at Boro, with Wes Brown returning to the bench as United look to maintain their three-point advantage over Liverpool.

Paul Scholes, Park Ji-sung, Nani and Ben Foster are all set to be included as well.