Sir Alex adamant Manchester United's verve can prove decisive

MANCHESTER UNITED manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes his team have the skill to match Chelsea's strength and lift the European Cup.

Although his side went on to retain the Barclays Premier League title, Ferguson is still hurt by a late-season defeat at Stamford Bridge. He intends to set the record straight when England's top two go head to head in Moscow in tonight's Champions League final.

He said: "I have the players to do the job and I trust them. Chelsea are physically stronger than most of the Premier League teams but we do not need to match that. We have to play with our main strength, our movement and our passing, our ability to create openings in the game.

"We are in good shape and I do not want us to change too much. Maybe we don't have the overall experience like Chelsea in terms of age but we have courage."

Defender Nemanja Vidic, who suffered a facial injury against Chelsea last month, sat out training last night.

However the club insisted he will play and a spokesman added: "He is on a different training programme to other people."

Ferguson has also dismissed concerns about the pitch.