Fergie demands more goals
11 Sep 2006 - 11:27:02
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is determined to learn from last season's disastrous Champions League campaign when his side opens this term's competition on Wednesday with a clash against Celtic.
United failed to qualify for the final 16 last season as they found goals hard to come by in a group that included Lille, Villarreal and Benfica.
Ferguson is particularly pleased to welcome Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes back to his squad after the duo completed their three-match ban for their red cards in the pre-season friendly against FC Porto.
"Having Wayne and Paul available is a bonus for us - there's no doubt about that - because they're two fantastic players," he told the Manchester Evening News. "There's always a goal threat from them and that's important.
"You can't guarantee anything in this group with Celtic, Benfica and Copenhagen. Last year we had Lille and Benfica and we thought we'd be fine. But we didn't score enough goals.
"We didn't score against Lille or Villarreal. It'll be different this year I can assure you. We were really disappointed last year. This year I think we'll be okay. We have the experience and quality to get through.
"If someone had told me this time last year we'd finish bottom of our group, I'd never have believed them.
"No-one likes bad memories but good footballers should always look at situations like that and say 'I don't want that to happen again'."