Alex Ferguson marked his 21st anniversary at Manchester United yesterday by speculating whether he could outlast Matt Busby, who was manager for 24 years. "It is going to be interesting," said Ferguson, who is not even willing to contemplate a retirement date until he has achieved his ambition of returning the European Cup to Old Trafford.

"I thought 20 years was the landmark last year and now there is an extra year to add to that," said Ferguson. "It does mean something to me. Now I see that they are taking bets on me getting to 25 years." Ferguson, like Busby, has won Europe's premier club competition only once and, by the time this season's final takes place in Moscow on May 21st, it will have been nine years since that famous night in Barcelona when a microphone was pushed in front of his face and United's manager, drunk on euphoria, uttered the immortal line, "football . . . bloody hell".

The issue, for Ferguson, is not his own longevity but that a club of United's stature and resources should have had many more triumphs and, increasingly impatient as the years go by, the 65-year-old says the challenge for his players is not to be remembered as "nearly men", pointing out they cannot have claims for genuine greatness unless they re-establish themselves as Europe's top team.

"The players clearly want to do well in the Champions League and, if you are one of the best, you naturally look to spell it out with cups and medals," said Ferguson, who revealed Gary Neville had suffered an injury setback. "Otherwise, you are in danger of ending your career as a nearly man, and I don't think a single Manchester United player wants that."

United can qualify for the knockout stages with two games to spare by beating Dynamo Kiev at Old Trafford tonight and, having put four past the same opposition in Ukraine two weeks ago, Ferguson believes it should be a smooth passage into the next phase. He warned it was "no dead tie" but Ferguson's natural demeanour is to ooze self-belief and he felt sufficiently emboldened to predict his team were equipped to win the competition for the third time in their history.

"I'm very positive about that," he said. "We have had our disappointments in the Champions League but this season I really believe we are capable of going all the way. You can never take anything for granted at this level as the competition is needle-sharp and everyone pulls out all the stops. You want all your players fit for the major games but I sense the mood is good and the commitment is there for a really determined effort to put the club back on the map.

"Talk comes cheap, but I think we have built a platform that, with just a little bit of luck, will launch us on our way. We came close last season but ran out of steam in the second leg of the semi-final against Milan and our match-winning stars like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo were relatively subdued.

"So what makes me think we can take it further this time? Basically, we are stronger and more experienced now. There has always been great ability in our teams but this one - since I took stock and brought in a new element - is maturing fast and I am convinced the players are ready to deliver."

Ferguson was less sanguine about the latest bulletin on Neville, who has aggravated the calf problem that has been partly responsible for him missing the last seven months. "It's a real downer for all of us," said Ferguson. "He's not back at square one but it's certainly something we could have done without."