Man Utd boss Ferguson to hand kids Besiktas chance

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to give his youngsters European experience this week.

United face Besiktas at Old Trafford on Wednesday night at the top of Group B.

And Ferguson will utilise his squad in the belief that staying at the summit is not as important as previous years.

He added: “I will freshen the team up because finishing first or second doesn’t seem to be as important this year. We want to keep our consistency in the competition. We have got a good record, both at home and away, and we want to maintain them both.

“But who would I want to face in the knock-out stages? For instance, would you want to face Real Madrid or AC Milan?

“Look at the group with Rubin Kazan, Inter Milan and Barcelona. Now that’s an interesting one and I really can’t pick a winner there. If it’s Lyon or Fiorentina, who would it be best to face? There’s not a lot between them.

“Then there’s Bordeaux, Bayern Munich and Juventus. I think the Champions League is probably more open this season than ever before.”