Sir Alex Ferguson

Determined to be the Creme de la Kremlin, the Moscow-bound Sir Alex Ferguson was all smiles at Manchester United’s training retreat on Friday. He was reflecting on the joyous aftermath of reaching the European Cup final by defeating Barcelona, on being woken at dawn by his grand-daughter after three hours’ sleep. “I was fresh as a daisy!” laughed Ferguson, an ageless and very wise owl who always enjoys the enthusiasm of youth.

Sorcerers and apprentices form the latest XI built by Ferguson, who believes they are still young by European standards. “Without question, most of the teams who do well in Europe are in their late 20s, average age 28, maybe in AC Milan’s case a bit older. In Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, Louis Saha and Mikael Silvestre we have good experience.

“Then there’s the younger ones like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. Ronaldo’s got 38 goals, hopefully he gets to 40, and unless he got 100 per cent of the vote [as Footballer of the Year, announced on Friday] I can’t give the football writers any credit!

“Sometimes with young players I say, ‘they are going to improve at a later date’, but with Rooney and Ronaldo I say, ‘they’re capable of anything’. Put them on any stage in the world and I would be happy. That’s the bonus you get with exceptional young players.

“The four new players: [Carlos] Tevez, Anderson, Nani and [Owen] Hargreaves, have come in and contributed. Tevez scores in big games a lot. His energy the other night was fantastic, a real Argentinian mentality, a winner’s mentality. They are bonding very well, they are all good friends, mix well together. I think they will stay together. I thought we had a good chance in Europe this year because of the size of the squad.

Although United have not performed to the peak of their potential for a month now, Ferguson detected the fire returning to his players in the acrimonious wake of last Saturday’s defeat at Chelsea. “They were all gutted in the dressing-room. The manner in which we lost [Michael Ballack’s late penalty] got to them really badly. It was 86 minutes, Michael Carrick is running back and — dearie me! How can he get his hand out of the road? It was not a calm dressing-room. It was an angry one. They will remember that.”

The heating of United’s blood drove them past Barcelona at a boisterous Old Trafford. “Tuesday night could kick-start us to win the next three games [Wigan on May 11 and Chelsea in Moscow on May 21].

The atmosphere was fantastic. I don’t think there has been an atmosphere like that in the ground in my time. Maybe we won’t need a team talk before West Ham. I’ll let the fans do that.

Ferguson relished the scene, watching his players revelling in their achievement. The match-winner, Scholes, disappeared home sharpish, not one for wallowing in the glory or the bath. Had he found it difficult to “bring Scholes down to earth” came the teasing question to Ferguson. “Very difficult!” laughed the Glaswegian, sipping on his irony brew. “He’s such a lively guy!” Scholes is old-school, low-key, a one-club servant.

Another loyal player, Giggs, is close to making United history. If he features against West Ham and Wigan, the winger will eclipse Sir Bobby Charlton’s United record of 758 appearances the moment he steps foot on the lush new lawn of the Luzhniki Stadium on May 21. Charlton’s awesome mark actually stood at 759 games, but this accidentally included a 1962 FA Cup third-round tie he never played in.

So Giggs, 34, can become United’s longest-serving player in the European Cup final. “It would certainly be an achievement for him to match or beat Bobby’s record,” Ferguson reflected. “I don’t think Bobby ever missed a game or had a serious injury. He played and played and played. That’s a measure of the man’s capabilities and physical prowess.

Ferguson’s thoughts then turned to bizarre events unfolding a couple of fields away in Carrington. Over at Manchester City’s training complex, Sven-Goran Eriksson was conducting one of his last training sessions, following Thaksin Shinawatra’s decision to dispense with his services imminently.

The success of his old club, Rangers, in reaching the Uefa Cup final at Eastlands, inevitably delighted Ferguson.

Ferguson had his own European final to plan for and a domestic title to secure. “Newcastle is not an easy place to go,” said Ferguson of Chelsea’s next fixture. “Newcastle are on the march now. We have the better goal difference. We must be in the driving seat.”

He wouldn’t be attempting to play some mind games on Chelsea, would he? “I’m getting too old for all that!” laughed Ferguson. “I’m off for a nap!” No chance. Ferguson is wide awake and hungry for the double.