I’ll be delighted if I can pick from a full squad come March but a lot can happen before then. It taxes you.”I thought Arsenal would go through but they suffered with injuries, that is what can happen That is why you need a big squad. I think we should take a leaf out of Scotland’s book and take a January break We have seven games this month. They will go on a nice trip to the Canary Islands, while we are battering through the winter.

“While teams like Kiev are having a break we’re battling through winter. It is this that might force him into the market.”They have the ability, it is a question of whether they will still be fresh come March,” he mused. The team do not convince defensively and that would appear to be the area to invest in.However, as Liverpool have found, it is no easier to buy top quality defenders or goalkeepers than it is to acquire forwards.The extra worry for Ferguson, given the intensity of the English game, is the problem of injured and jaded players. Though Savio suffered injury Karembeu scored important goals in the quarter and semi-finals and played in the final.The deadline for new signings is 31 January and only players who have not participated in any of the three European competitions this season will be eligible.Given that United had a full squad to choose from yet failed to defeat Bayern at home on Wednesday, strengthening may be required.

Real’s spending was even more influential as they invested more than pounds 10m in Christian Karembeu of France and the Brazilian, Savio. The reason is that last year United were the only quarter-finalist not to strengthen and they went out straight away having had to field an injury- hit side against Monaco.Ferguson suggested that Juventus, whom he holds up as a European benchmark in much the same way domestic rivals regard United as their guideline, had merely added depth to their squad but they did sign Edgar Davids as well as two supplementary players. “Why do you always ask that?” was his response when his intentions were enquired of on Wednesday night. An optimist will note that they were unbeaten in four meetings with Bayern Munich and Barcelona, a pessimist will point out they also failed to beat either side. Similarly they qualified by the back door but were the highest goalscorers and one of only two unbeaten teams (the other are Juventus).Now there is a lull during which manager Alex Ferguson will consider whether he needs to strengthen the squad. Should these teams stay apart they seem certain to meet in the Villa Park final come May.United have a more daunting task ahead. Indeed, during this period the Italians have had at least one quarter-finalist in every competition, every year, winning a third of the trophies.Thus Internazionale and Juventus will be high among the teams Manchester United wish to avoid in the quarter-final draw though not half as much as Chelsea will be eager to avoid Lazio in the Cup-Winners’ Cup.

This compares to 15 French qualifiers, 13 Spanish, 19 German and a staggering 24 from Italy. This year’s last eight includes, for example, such internationally renowned clubs as Valerenga, Varteks Varazdin, Panionios, Maccabi Haifa and Real Mallorca.
In the two other competitions England have managed six quarter-finalists between them. Not a bad record, but it is no coincidence that it is the weakest of the competitions. As usual Manchester United will be joined, when the competitions resume in the spring, by the Premiership’s European Cup-Winners’ Cup entrant. This is one competition English clubs have got to grips with, achieving six-quarter-finalists – and two wins – in the seven seasons since the Premiership began. December is culling season in European football’s club competitions and, once again, when the quarter- finalists were counted it did not take long to add up the English contribution.