United and Celtic ready to lock horns

Alex Ferguson and Martin O’Neill shared a common theme as they looked ahead to tomorrow’s mouth-watering clash in Seattle – Manchester United and Celtic do not play friendlies.

Two of Europe’s biggest clubs might be separated from their homeland by the width of the Atlantic and the entire American continent but it has done nothing to dilute the rivalry between the pair as the launch a much-hyped Champions World programme which also features Juventus, Barcelona and AC Milan.

And the opposing managers made it perfectly clear at their pre-match briefing that pre-season or not, winning will matter when their sides run out in front of a capacity 67,000 crowd at the Seahawks Stadium.

“It is unusual for us to be playing each other so far from our home countries but other than that, nothing changes,” said Ferguson.

“Celtic don’t do friendlies. They play to win and so do we.”

His words were echoed by O’Neill, who recalled the most recent meeting between the sides, in Ryan Giggs’ testimonial at Old Trafford two years ago, which Celtic won 4-3, a result which their manager claimed provided the impetus for an excellent Champions League win over Ajax shortly afterwards.

“Beating United gave our confidence a boost and we took that feeling into the new season,” recalled O’Neill, whose side went on to win the domestic treble in Scotland that year.

“You want to measure yourself against the best and Manchester United possess some of the very best players in the world.

“We are definitely going out there to win, there would be no point coming out here otherwise and Sir Alex has not won as many trophies as he has by lying on a beach enjoying himself, so I’m sure he feels the same way.”

O’Neill said he intended to field his strongest side for the clash and will use the bare minimum of substitutes, even though his team must travel back across the States to Cleveland, where they will face Boca Juniors on Friday.

Ferguson wasn’t prepared to reveal his hand in the same way but he is also likely to field a strong line-up, although he must decide who to draft into defence to take over from Mikael Silvestre, who is still resting after his Confederations Cup commitments with France.

“The whole history of these two clubs is about winning,” he said.

“Celtic’s fans mean business and they won’t be prepared to spend money on a team that isn’t trying.

“The ground will be full and we are looking forward to a fantastic occasion.”