United plan to respect Aalborg
30 Sep 2008 - 08:33:54
Sir Alex Ferguson has promised that his Manchester United team will not under-estimate Aalborg when the two teams meet in their Champions League clash in Denmark on Tuesday.
Two years ago a weakened United side surprisingly lost to FC Copenhagen and Ferguson is determined there will be no repeat of that result this time.
The veteran Scottish manager said: "The most important thing is that Aalborg get our respect. They're a small club, with only 10,000 fans, but we must make sure we don't fall into any traps and play to our best level.
"Two years ago we made a mistake in picking our team against Copenhagen because we were in a comfortable position in the group, and we ended up scrapping away for qualification, so we'll definitely field our strongest team this time.
"For Aalborg to have reached the Champions League is an enormous achievement in itself. Then the result they got in the first game was fantastic, given Celtic's outstanding home record in the Champions League.
"One defeat for Celtic in all those years is a measure of how important that result was for Aalborg, so it makes it interesting for us.
"But Villarreal got us at a good time, when we were still advancing towards our best form, and I think we're in much better shape now.
"The players realise how important qualifying for the next stage is. The competition kicks off properly at the end of February and, if we get to that stage, then we've as good a chance as anyone.
"We have a difficult game on Tuesday because they'll be well motivated and will have fantastic support, so we have to handle these things and hopefully get the right result."