Sir Alex Ferguson has challenged Manchester United to silence their detractors with victory over Barcelona in the Champions League final and believes he has a squad with the youth and desire to increase its haul of 19 league titles.
United moved ahead of Liverpool with a record 19th championship on Saturday, courtesy of a controversial, equalising penalty from Wayne Rooney. The triumph granted United a fortnight to prepare for their third Champions League final appearance in four seasons and, while Ferguson promised to field a recognisable team against Blackpool on Sunday, admitting the club "had a duty to be fair to all the teams in the country", his thoughts at Ewood Park soon turned to the priority of Barcelona at Wembley on 28 May. It will be the opportunity not only to avenge defeat in the 2009 final but, Ferguson said, the lack of recognition afforded his champions this season.
"Beating Barcelona would end all arguments about this team and that is their challenge at Wembley," he said after his 12th title triumph as United manager. "There is nothing wrong with accepting challenges and we are good at that. It doesn't matter where they come from, you have to stand up to the mark. We have shown resilience and our home form has been great. I think we are OK.
"They don't give in, that is their great quality. There are good ages in the team, a lot of good legs and a lot of speed. I know we are playing a terrific team in Barcelona but would you back against us in a big way? I don't think you would. We are capable of doing very well in the final."
Ferguson identified United's stirring recovery at West Ham United on 2 April as the defining point in this season's title race, when a Rooney hat-trick overturned a two‑goal first‑half deficit. "The West Ham game was probably the turning point," he said. "We were 2-0 down at half‑time and that put the shits up the lot of them. Me included."
Doubts have been cast over United's ability to replenish their squad when Edwin van der Sar, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs eventually retire, with the Dutch goalkeeper set to leave this summer – and his stand-in, Tomasz Kuszczak, enduring a torrid time at Blackburn – and the chief executive, David Gill, admitted "it wouldn't surprise us" if Scholes followed suit. Ferguson, however, said that process was under way and that a first title success for such as Javier Hernández and Chris Smalling would stimulate the appetite to move further ahead of Liverpool in terms of titles won.
"I think that hunger will always be there because that is my job. We try to select properly and we try to produce players properly. All the players we have produced through the years have had that quality, that hunger. That includes [Tom] Cleverley, [Danny] Welbeck and others. They have what we expect of Manchester United players.
"It is difficult to say where this team stands. We have had some great teams at this club. The 1994 team and the one in 1999 stand out but all the teams we have had here have risen to the challenge, which at this club is to win things. Some of the young players now have their first trophy – [Antonio] Valencia, [Darron] Gibson, Hernández, Smalling – and that gives them the impetus to move on and realise what being a Manchester United player involves."
The United manager admitted Hernandez and Rooney were below-par at Blackburn, who settled for the draw in the closing stages despite being only one point clear of the relegation zone heading into Sunday's finale at Wolverhampton Wanderers. But he is confident both will thrive on the impending encounter with the Spanish champions.
Ferguson said: "I don't think Rooney and Hernandez did that well. I don't think we did that well anywhere on the pitch. It was a hard game and you could see the tension in the second half. I thought it was going to be one of those days. We have had it a few times at Blackburn. There was a 0-0 last season that cost us the title. There was a 0-0 in 1999.
"But Rooney and Hernandez have terrific qualities when it comes to playing against anyone. You saw that last week against Chelsea in a game that really mattered, against the champions and the team that have been our strongest challengers for the last six years. That was the quality you saw last week."