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Fergie reveals impending Euro final heartache

13/05/2008

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted he will find it very difficult to tell some players they will not be part of the matchday squad for the Champions League final.

The Manchester United boss revealed he expects selecting the substitutes bench for his squad will be a trickier task than naming his starting XI to face Chelsea in Moscow a week tomorrow.

Despite coming off the back of a gruelling season, Ferguson has 26 fit players at his disposal - a scenario he says is "unheard of".

And as a result, several important members of the Red Devils setup will miss out on the biggest match in the season.

"It makes it difficult for me. I think picking the team will be easier than picking the substitutes," Ferguson told Sky Sports.

"I'm going to have to leave some fantastic players out of the squad completely next week, which I won't enjoy doing, but something has to be done."

United pipped the Blues to the domestic league title on Sunday by beating Wigan Athletic 2-0 at the JJB Stadium, while their opponents could only draw 1-1 with Bolton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge.

But Ferguson admitted European glory remains his main focus, with the club having won Europe's top trophy just twice in their history in 1968 and 1999.

"When you see that Real Madrid have got nine trophies, AC Milan I think have seven or eight, Liverpool have five, Bayern Munich and Ajax four apiece, that's the kind of record we should really have," he said.

"I think that's the thing which should drive us all on."