Group C FC Basel v Manchester Utd:ALEX FERGUSON believes the threat to Manchester United's Champions League status will guarantee there is no loss of focus from Wayne Rooney when the striker commences a crucial week in Switzerland against Basel.

United must avoid defeat at the home of the Swiss champions to ensure they do not fall at the group stage of the Champions League for only the third time in 17 campaigns. Rooney’s duties in Switzerland not only include leading a United attack weakened by injuries to Javier Hernandez, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen but attending a disciplinary hearing at Uefa’s headquarters in Nyon tomorrow morning that will decide whether he must serve a three-match suspension at next summer’s European Championship.

Ferguson was sensitive enough to Rooney’s despair after his dismissal for England against Montenegro in October to leave him out of the starting line-up in United’s subsequent game at Liverpool. Rooney’s value to United, and the need to remain on course for a fourth Champions League final appearance in five seasons, however, prompted Ferguson to dismiss any concerns that the 26-year-old could be distracted by off-field events in the Group C finale.

“That is a different day,” he said of Rooney’s Uefa appeal. “This is a big game, an important game, and I don’t think that will come into it at all.”

United failed to qualify from the group stages only in 1994-95 and 2005-06. They face a Basel team who must win to join Benfica in the knockout phase and are on a fine run of 15 wins in their past 19 games in all competitions, although Ferguson – having lost only one away game in Europe since the 2007 semi-final defeat to Milan (finals against Barcelona excluded) – displayed supreme confidence in United’s prospects of success.

“I don’t think that kind of pressure affects us,” he said. “If you look at the number of games these players play in, they are involved year in and year out in semi-finals, finals and quarter-finals and tomorrow is that type of situation. It is another big game and a hard one. We have to rely on our experience in the last few years away from home. That is the record we are taking into the game. It helps us, there is no question about that, and let’s hope it applies itself tomorrow.”

The Basel captain, Marco Streller, accused United of treating his team lightly during the 3-3 draw at Old Trafford in September. “At 2-0, it seemed to me they didn’t take us seriously,” he said. “But after that, I know they will not underestimate us again. They will take us seriously tomorrow because now they know we are a good team. We have proved it already.”

Streller’s claim brooked no argument from Ferguson. United were two Danny Welbeck goals ahead and cruising when the teams last met but required a stoppage-time header from Ashley Young to salvage a 3-3 draw. For all the inquests into English clubs’ difficulties in the Champions League, the United manager insists it was only that second-half display against Basel that has placed last season’s runners-up in jeopardy.

Ferguson explained: “There have been some changes [in the group stage] this season. Look at Nicosia, for instance. They have an owner who has invested a lot of money and look as if they can win their section. Leverkusen are in the middle of the German league but have qualified. There have been some changes in the group, although Real Madrid’s form has been outstanding and the Barcelona-Milan game was a fantastic European game between two of the well-known teams.

“We are suffering from the casualness against Basel. We beat Galati and we did well in Lisbon and could have scored four or five against Benfica at home so it hasn’t been all bad. I think there was obvious complacency in the game against Basel when we went 2-0 and missed a lot of chances. Basel missed two chances in the first half also. It was a strange game and we managed to make it up with a late equaliser which has probably rescued us in this section. That’s the only one where you can criticise us.”

The United manager confirmed Hernandez will be out for about one month with the ankle ligament injury he sustained at Villa Park on Saturday.

Guardian Service