Source: Daily_Mail
Alex Ferguson tells Manchester United not to blow it
Sir Alex Ferguson has urged his Manchester United players not to let their season evaporate in the space of the next five days.Ferguson's team take a 2-0 first-leg lead into their Champions League semi-final against German side Schalke at Old Trafford with most people expecting them to cruise through to the final. They then take on Chelsea in a Barclays Premier League crunch clash this Sunday.And the United boss has told his players to beware the lessons of last season, when a 2-1 league defeat by Chelsea was quickly followed by a European exit against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford. Off and running: Ryan Giggs scores Manchester United's first goal against SchalkeFerguson said: 'It's like what happened last year exactly the same situation. That's the optimism supporters have got (thinking United are already through) but we don't share that. It's easy to get complacent in modern life there are many examples of it.'I hope Manchester United don't get complacent. Our work ethic will be very high. As regards the league, we must be favourites only because we are three points ahead but that can evaporate very quickly. As I said last week, the drama isn't finished.'United breezed through the first leg in Gelsenkirchen last week with goals from Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney. Neither player is expected to start at Old Trafford as Ferguson takes the unusual step of resting players for the Chelsea game.Rooney missed training on Tuesday with a tight hamstring but will be fit for Sunday. Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen are expected to play up front against Schalke, and Darren Fletcher will return after a long lay-off with a virus. Rare start: Michael Owen looks set to lead the line against Schalke a Old TraffordSunday's 1-0 defeat at Arsenal has thrown the title race wide open but Ferguson believes his players have the mental strength to recover. He added: 'It is always difficult when you have a lead from the first leg but I think the best way is to win the match, play your normal game. If you look at the experience of last year when we lost the league after a Wednesday game against Bayern, that has to have bearing on team selection.'They are two massive games, both as important as ever. There will be some changes but hopefully the nucleus of the team is still good enough.'It's always been the case at this club that if we lose a game we recover. The interesting thing about Sunday was that the four European semi-finalists all lost. There are stats that show the European games do take it out of you. 'Sunday's match is a huge one which is why I have to pick the right team for this one.' Final curtain: Edwin van der Saar will retire from football at the end of the seasonFerguson has urged Edwin van der Sar to ignore the dressing room pleas for him to extend his career by another season and quit while still on top of his game.'If I was giving advice to Edwin van der Sar, right now, I would say retire,' said Ferguson. 'He is at the absolute pinnacle of his career but sometimes, age comes on to you suddenly. I wouldn't want to see Edwin in that situation. He deserves to go out at the very top.'Schalke's flight from Germany was delayed by two hours by visa problems. Non-European nationals such as forwards Edu and Farfan did not to have the right documents but were eventually allowed to travel.If Schalke progress, they would be the first Champions League team to do so having lost the home leg 2-0. Rooney misses training with hamstring problem ahead of Schalke showdownChelsea showdown clouds United's Champions League preparationsWebb to ref Manchester United's crunch title showdown with ChelseaAll the latest Manchester United news, features and opinion Explore more:People: Alex Ferguson, Darren Fletcher, Michael Owen, Ryan Giggs, Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney, Edwin Van Der Sar Places: Germany