Fergie fears international duties will hit club

Alex Ferguson has admitted success for England at Euro 2004 would wreck Manchester United’s Champions League preparations.

Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea condemned the Red Devils to the qualifying rounds of Europe’s most prestigious club competition for the second time in three years.

Despite their favourable position in UEFA’s seeding system, Anderlecht, Red Star Belgrade and Rosenborg are among the realistic potential opponents for a place in the group stages, with the first leg due to be played on August 11, four days before the start of the new Premiership campaign is due to begin.

The qualifying games will be wedged into a pre-season campaign that comprises a three-match tour to the United States, two games in the inaugural Vodafone Cup, the line-up for which is due to be announced at Old Trafford tomorrow, plus a potential Community Shield encounter with Arsenal on August 8.

Ferguson had hoped the packed programme would have provided the perfect run-in to a concerted assault on Arsenal’s Premiership title.

Instead, the Red Devils chief must negotiate his way round the fixtures and try to ensure his team are in the best possible state when they embark on their crucial bid to reach the Champions League.

The problem for Ferguson is that he is not completely in control of his planning.

Past experience has told the Scot that all his squad will need a one-month break before returning to training.

Up to nine members of his squad will be in Portugal for Euro 2004, including five in the England party alone if Wes Brown were to get a call.

And if Sven-Goran Eriksson’s team were to reach the final, Ferguson fears it would prevent Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Brown and the Neville brothers from being part of his Champions League plans.

“If any of them get to the final of Euro 2004 on July 4, it is unlikely they will play in the qualifying round of the Champions League because they wouldn’t come back to us on August 2,” Ferguson told MUTV.

“Past experience has taught me that when a player appears in a big tournament like the European Championships, they need a full month off.

“A couple of weeks ago I was looking at how we have handled situations like these in the past and there was one year when David Beckham and Gary Neville came back eight days earlier than a month and within three weeks Gary had some more time off because he was feeling so terrible.

“If you don’t give players that month, the team suffers later in the season.

“My problem is that we have so many players away and the time is so tight.”

And it isn’t just the European Championships that will cause Ferguson headaches, United will lose Uruguay’s Diego Forlan and Brazilian midfielder Kleberson to the Copa America, while Tim Howard and Eric Djemba-Djemba also have World Cup qualifying commitments in June and July.