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Ferguson banks on midfielders to compensate for Keane
Athens, Nov 26: Alex Ferguson praises his midfield players ahead of the Champions League match against Panathinaikos.
Athens, Nov 26: Alex Ferguson praises his midfield players ahead of the Champions League match against Panathinaikos.
Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson said on Tuesday (November 25) that even without captain Roy Keane the team had strong midfield players that were up to the challenge ahead against powerful opponents in the Champions League. United face Panathinaikos on Wednesday and need only one point to confirm their place in the next round. Captain Roy Keane did not travel to Greece because of a slight hamstring strain, and manager Ferguson said it was too great a risk to have him play. Ferguson said he had no fears however about his midfield players, saying there was a lot of potential, and that the team was building a strong set of midfielders including Phil Neville, who had showed great maturity over time. But his main worry was how long Keane's career would last.
Ferguson said he hoped Keane, who is 32, still had a few years of play in him. Keane is expected to be fit for Sunday's crunch premier league game against championship rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Ferguson said United hoped to win the group but the opponents were powerful, sighting heavyweights such as Real Madrid, Ajax and Inter Milan.
Asked about Chelsea's potential, who United play on Sunday, Ferguson said there were many powerful and successful teams in Europe and Chelsea still had to cross that barrier.
Ferguson has no other fresh injury worries and may recall winger Ryan Giggs to his starting line-up after the Wales international was used only as a substitute in last Saturday's league win over Blackburn.
Nicky Butt could replace Keane, with Ferguson also adding youngsters Neil Wood, Danny Pugh and Paul Tierney to his squad.
Newcomer to the team Tim Howard who plays his first season with Manchester United commented on his feelings so far playing with the Red Devils. "I'm quite happy," he said. "There's obviously a lot of lessons to be learned, (but) I'm quite young. The more games I play the more I'll grow."
Panathinaikos will host United without central defender Nassif Morris after the South African picked up a knee injury in Saturday's 1-1 draw away to Olympiakos.
Coach Itzhak Shum is expected to switch from a 5-3-2 to a four-man defence, and add Romanian Lucian Sanmartean to the midfield, as they look for a win that would revive hopes of third place and a UEFA Cup berth.
United are well placed to qualify for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, needing just a point from their final two games to book their spot in the last 16.
Even with a surprise defeat in Greece, Ferguson's side would secure qualification with a positive result at home to Stuttgart in two weeks time.
Probable teams: Panathinaikos: 1-Antonis Nikopolidis; 2-Rene Henriksen, 5-Yourkas Seitaridis, 8-Yiannis Goumas, 30-Takis Fyssas; 20-Angelos Basinas, 14-Raimondas Zutautas, 35-Jan Michaelsen, 18-Lucian Sanmartean; 11-Dimitris Papadopoulos, 19-Michalis Konstantinou
United: 14-Tim Howard; 2-Gary Neville, 22-John O'Shea, 5-Rio Ferdinand, 27-Mikael Silvestre; 3-Phil Neville, 8-Nicky Butt, 25-Quinton Fortune, 15-Kleberson; 10-Ruud Van Nistelrooy, 11-Ryan Giggs.
Referee: Jan W Wegereef (Netherlands)
Bureau Report
Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson said on Tuesday (November 25) that even without captain Roy Keane the team had strong midfield players that were up to the challenge ahead against powerful opponents in the Champions League. United face Panathinaikos on Wednesday and need only one point to confirm their place in the next round. Captain Roy Keane did not travel to Greece because of a slight hamstring strain, and manager Ferguson said it was too great a risk to have him play. Ferguson said he had no fears however about his midfield players, saying there was a lot of potential, and that the team was building a strong set of midfielders including Phil Neville, who had showed great maturity over time. But his main worry was how long Keane's career would last.
Ferguson said he hoped Keane, who is 32, still had a few years of play in him. Keane is expected to be fit for Sunday's crunch premier league game against championship rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Ferguson said United hoped to win the group but the opponents were powerful, sighting heavyweights such as Real Madrid, Ajax and Inter Milan.
Asked about Chelsea's potential, who United play on Sunday, Ferguson said there were many powerful and successful teams in Europe and Chelsea still had to cross that barrier.
Ferguson has no other fresh injury worries and may recall winger Ryan Giggs to his starting line-up after the Wales international was used only as a substitute in last Saturday's league win over Blackburn.
Nicky Butt could replace Keane, with Ferguson also adding youngsters Neil Wood, Danny Pugh and Paul Tierney to his squad.
Newcomer to the team Tim Howard who plays his first season with Manchester United commented on his feelings so far playing with the Red Devils. "I'm quite happy," he said. "There's obviously a lot of lessons to be learned, (but) I'm quite young. The more games I play the more I'll grow."
Panathinaikos will host United without central defender Nassif Morris after the South African picked up a knee injury in Saturday's 1-1 draw away to Olympiakos.
Coach Itzhak Shum is expected to switch from a 5-3-2 to a four-man defence, and add Romanian Lucian Sanmartean to the midfield, as they look for a win that would revive hopes of third place and a UEFA Cup berth.
United are well placed to qualify for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, needing just a point from their final two games to book their spot in the last 16.
Even with a surprise defeat in Greece, Ferguson's side would secure qualification with a positive result at home to Stuttgart in two weeks time.
Probable teams: Panathinaikos: 1-Antonis Nikopolidis; 2-Rene Henriksen, 5-Yourkas Seitaridis, 8-Yiannis Goumas, 30-Takis Fyssas; 20-Angelos Basinas, 14-Raimondas Zutautas, 35-Jan Michaelsen, 18-Lucian Sanmartean; 11-Dimitris Papadopoulos, 19-Michalis Konstantinou
United: 14-Tim Howard; 2-Gary Neville, 22-John O'Shea, 5-Rio Ferdinand, 27-Mikael Silvestre; 3-Phil Neville, 8-Nicky Butt, 25-Quinton Fortune, 15-Kleberson; 10-Ruud Van Nistelrooy, 11-Ryan Giggs.
Referee: Jan W Wegereef (Netherlands)
Bureau Report