Sir Alex Ferguson has hinted that he may be ready to unleash Portuguese flyer Cristiano Ronaldo on Rangers in the Champions League tonight as the Glasgow giants visit Old Trafford for the second 'Battle of Britain'.
The 18-year-old was not used by his manager in the 1-0 win at Ibrox last month and has started on the bench in United's last two league games, coming on as a substitute to score his first goal for the club in the 3-0 triumph over Portsmouth on Saturday.
Ferguson believes that there was too much expectation on the youngster's shoulders following his explosive introduction to English football in August and has opted to use him sparingly in recent weeks, but admitted he may figure against the Scottish Champions.
"What we realised after the game we lost in Stuttgart is maybe we asked too much of him. We keep forgetting he is only 18 and with young players in the past we have given them spells where they are in the team and then rested them," Sir Alex declared.
"That's not to say he will not be involved tonight. We have rested him for the last two games, and I think at this stage of his career he needs the freshness, we can't ask him to play every game. We just have to monitor his progress far more carefully than other players in the squad."
Ferguson, who will celebrate 17 years as United's boss on Thursday, has admitted that his side must perform better than in the 1-0 win in Glasgow a fortnight ago if they are to get the better of his former club once again.
The English Champions managed to hold on for the three points after Phil Neville's early goal at Ibrox but their manager has stressed to his players the need for more aggression this time.
He added: "Rangers have done very little wrong this season and we have to make sure they don't control the tempo of the match the way they did in the first half at Ibrox.
"I thought they controlled the rhythm of the game through [Mikel] Arteta - nobody tackled him. We sat back - even Roy Keane was sat back in front of the back four - and we don't want that to happen again. I'm hoping we are far more positive and aggressive in our defending."
United will be without Paul Scholes, who is recovering from groin surgery, but have Brazilian midfielder Kleberson back in the squad after several weeks out with a dislocated shoulder. Mikael Silvestre also returns to duty after missing two games with a knee problem.
|
