Sir Alex Ferguson Forced to Shuffle Manchester United Pack in Bid for Freshness

Manchester United are tired, and no wonder. It is not just the matter of having to play a pacy game at Porto on a Wednesday night then get themselves up for an FA Cup semi-final against a team that has had a week off, it is the matter of being Manchester United.

Nemanja Vidic puts it most ­succinctly. "Against Manchester United everyone gives 200 per cent," the ­Serbian ­center-half said. "When I played in ­Serbia and Russia I never played in this many games during a season. [Vidic has started 42 of United's 55 games in all competitions]. We are going for four trophies, but there is only time to think about the next game. Everton will be treating this semi-final like a cup final because this is the one trophy they can win, but for United that situation is ­normal. We don't just have to play Wednesday-Saturday-Wednesday-Sunday all the time, we always have to face opponents trying to have the best game of their life. That's the big ­difference. ­Playing for United you need to concentrate fully on every game."

Sir Alex Ferguson hopes the ­impressive defensive performance in Portugal, with Rio Ferdinand back alongside Vidic, will help settle his side after their recent sticky patch, though he has ­admitted he will be ­making changes for today's ­Wembley semi-final. "Not everyone will agree with the changes I make, but no one in their right mind would consider naming an unchanged team," he said. "All you can do at this stage of the season is concentrate on the game coming up and try to keep the team fresh."

Tim Howard is one of several former United players now at Everton who knows just how good Ferguson is at doing that. The underdogs might have had all week to prepare for their first visit to Wembley since the 1995 final, while United have had European football on top of a slight stumble in the league, but you will not catch Howard, or Phil ­Neville or Louis Saha, venturing the opinion that this might be a good time to play them.

"I've been at that club, I know the ­psyche, they will be right up for it at Wembley, no matter which team they put out," Howard said. "Now we are in the last four you can safely say this is our biggest game of the season. We have reached a stage where we can see ourselves winning something if we put in a couple of really good performances, but we will have to make sure we are at our best because we won't get any favours from United. Whatever the competition, they just don't think like that.

"Our record against them isn't that great, but semi-finals are always tight and both our league games this season have been tight. We drew at home and lost 1-0 at Old Trafford. So we have a chance, and we know what it would mean to our fans if we reached the final. There is a massive hunger at this club to win something, to have something to show for the improvement we have made in recent years."

David Moyes knows all about that. The manager sounded out by Ferguson for the assistant's job that eventually went to Steve McClaren has rebuilt Everton so impressively he is now being touted as a candidate for the Old Trafford succession, or at least he will be as soon as the present incumbent stops dismissing all talk of retirement. Moyes does not need a trophy to underline his managerial ­credentials; ­everyone is impressed at the way he has brought stability and substance to Everton on the tightest of budgets, but he passionately desires a tangible and lasting reward for the efforts of his players and the loyalty of the fans.

"We are going to win a trophy soon, there's no doubt about it," Moyes said. "We need to win a trophy. The way the game is now there are bigger clubs than us who won't win any trophies this year, and that will put them under pressure because of the money that has been spent. We haven't had an awful lot of money so we've had to build slowly. We can be proud of that, but everyone at the club would dearly love a trophy too.

"The league is not really within our grasp, but I think we've been getting a bit better at the cups. I've been here seven years now and I'm the first to admit I've got a terrible cup record, but this time we've actually got a good chance. Part of the reason for that, I must admit, is the professionalism that came with the players we bought from United. Phil Neville, for instance, came with a winner's attitude that we didn't have at the club previously. He wasn't used to losing games and he didn't expect to lose. He didn't take it well when we did lose and some of that attitude has rubbed off on the other lads. Phil will help keep the lads focused.

"The fans are excited about going to Wembley but I'm quite keen to play it down a bit. This is only a semi, after all, it's too early to get carried away. To reach the Cup final we've still got a lot to do."

If Moyes ever needs any help ­preparing a CV for an Old Trafford job application, he knows where to turn. "He's already at a good club, he's put his own stamp on Everton, taken a long-term view on making them competitive again and built a team of young players," Ferguson said admiringly of his fellow Scot. "He's done all that without much money too, but money sometimes makes life more difficult. He's improved Everton each year, that's the impressive thing. He might not get a break with a top-four club – he's not going to get the Liverpool job, for a start – but maybe he's happy at Everton. I think as long as he is there they are capable of being a top-four club."

Time will tell, though filling Ferguson's shoes still seems Moyes's likeliest route, perhaps his only route, into the land of milk and honey. Not that Ferguson is going any time soon. And not that he would dream of putting himself or a fellow manager under pressure by recommending a potential successor. The status quo remains, and Moyes, for one, is quite happy with that. "I can't understand why anyone would want Sir Alex to leave," he said. "He's the best, I think we've all got to hope he stays around for another few years.

"I am very pleased at the way things have worked out at Everton and I might never have got this chance if I had gone to be his assistant at United, but a small part of me will always wonder what that would have been like. You never stop learning, and you can't beat learning from the best."