Manchester United Football Club News

• Nickname:Red Devils
• Founded:1878
• Manager:Sir Alex Ferguson

• Ground:Old Trafford
• Capacity:68,174

Fergie shrugs off worries

23 Apr 2007 - 15:46:59

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is in an upbeat mood going into the Champions League semi-final encounter with AC Milan, even though he only has three recognised defenders available for Tuesday's first leg at Old Trafford.

Rio Ferdinand (groin), Gary Neville (ankle), Nemanja Vidic (collarbone) and Mikael Silvestre (shoulder) are all missing, while Patrice Evra is likely to be a substitute after recovering from a calf injury.

Wes Brown and Gabriel Heinze are expected to play in central defence against Carlo Ancelotti's side with John O'Shea and Darren Fletcher starting as full-backs.

However, Ferguson insisted: "We'll have important players available for the game, so the one problem I have is perhaps an inadequate bench.

"But we're happy with the squad available tomorrow.

"You do miss players like Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand and Louis Saha in big matches, but the spirit of the team is good.

"We're OK for central defenders. Since taking over from Vidic, Wes (Brown) has been very good.

"The one thing we know about Wes is that he's a natural defender. But the big-game occasion always helps him.

"Training has been fantastic. There's great banter and the atmosphere in the dressing room is fantastic. If you'd seen it after the game at Villa Park (in the FA Cup semi-final win against Watford) it was fantastic.

"They've grown together in the last couple of years and there are terrific signs.

"I think it's galvanised the team to a level where they know they can play football, but are prepared to muck it out where necessary. They're showing great determination to get through games."