Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed that Manchester United should not be 'frightened out of our skin' by the prospect of facing Barcelona in the Champions League final.
United completed a 6-1 aggregate triumph over Schalke in their semi-final on Wednesday night, setting up a repeat of the 2009 final in Rome. On that occasion, the Red Devils were undone by goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi and left Italy nursing a severe sense of underachievement.
But Ferguson insists his side should not harbour an inferiority complex, and said: "I don't think we should be going there lacking in confidence. Their form has been very good this season and we will be playing a fantastic team. But they haven't got a terror against us. We cannot be frightened out of our skin. We have got to find a solution to playing against them."
To that end, Ferguson will be making contact with old friend Jose Mourinho, who has suffered painfully at Barcelona's hands already this season, most recently this week when Real Madrid were turned over in their own semi-final.
"I speak to him quite a lot," said Ferguson. "Real are a different team from us for a start. It's not as if we haven't seen them before. I have watched them many times this season but we will take the information because Jose is very helpful that way."
Ferguson will become only the second manager to lead a team into four European Cup finals, although he jokingly wished the opposition was slightly easier after goals from Antonio Valencia, Darron Gibson and a second-half brace from Anderson secured a 4-1 win on the night.
"I wish it was Brechin City or someone like that," he laughed.
"At the start of the season if you look at the final, you think steer clear of Barcelona because their performance is there for everyone to see.
"But we have done our job well and our away form has been terrific.
"Wembley is a neutral ground but I think we'll be quite well prepared."
Source: PA
