Fergie relishing tough draw

Red Devils boss undaunted at Lyon pairing

By James Pearson   Last updated: 21st December 2007

Fergie relishing tough draw

Ferguson: Tough draw

It was maybe the hardest of the five that we could have got.

Ferguson on Champions League draw
Quotes of the week

Related links

Teams

Also see

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes his side have a difficult UEFA Champions League draw after being paired with Lyon in the last 16.

The Red Devils were drawn against the team who not only knocked Rangers out of the group stage, but have also claimed the French title for the last six successive seasons.

Ferguson has hailed the club's ability to produce home-grown talent and is looking to get a result in France in order to make the return leg at Old Trafford a daunting trip for Alain Perrin's men.

Hard draw

"It was maybe the hardest of the five that we could have got," he said on Sky Sports News. "Lyon have won their own championship for the last six years. It's an incredible record.

"They've lost one or two players over the past few years, but they can still produce players like (Karim) Benzima and (Hatem) Ben Arfa, who are both in the national team now.

"It won't be an easy game, but hopefully by the time we get back to that game we'll have the whole of our squad available. Then I can pick the team that I want. Then we'll have a good chance.

"Hopefully we can navigate that one and go onto bigger things. The important thing is to come back with a good result. Then Old Trafford is in good volume to give us that advantage in the home match."

Delight

Meanwhile, Park Ji-sung is nearing a first-team return after nine months on the sidelines and Ferguson is delighted with the South Korea international's response after returning to the squad.

"His training has been excellent in the last few weeks, first class. Well beyond what we'd expected, especially after being out for nine months," he continued.

"The minute he's gone back into the squad he's been terrific. So he'll take part in the Christmas games, I've no doubt about that. Which one depends on a lot of things."