Alex Ferguson has claimed the fear of never experiencing European success again drove him on to build his third great Manchester United side.

After the 1994 Double winners and unparalleled Treble campaign five years later, United are once again at the peak of their powers, with only domestic rivals Chelsea standing between them and another Champions League crown.

It seems hard to believe now but it is only two seasons ago that Ferguson's team were turfed out of Europe at the group stage, with many pundits openly starting to question how long the Scot would last in the Old Trafford hotseat.

While such an embarrassingly early exit was not part of the masterplan, it did prove to be part of the learning process that now leads to the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow for the newly-crowned Premier League champions.

"You have fear of many things but sometimes that drives you on," said Ferguson. "I felt it was an important time for us when we started to make another change and began to rebuild again.

"It is not easy to manage change and when you see a team starting to break up due to age, injuries or merely because others are not maintaining the level they should be at.

"But bringing in these young players over last two or three years gives you optimism you can do it again. If I didn't think like that with players like Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs and Scholes then I really am a pessimist."

Among those departing were David Beckham, Roy Keane and Ruud van Nistelrooy, a trio of crowd favourites Ferguson put his own reputation on the line by discarding.

But now it is almost like they never existed. Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez have formed a Holy Trinity of their own and with Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes providing the element of continuity, many feel this could turn out to be the best of all Ferguson's successful teams.

In fact, such is the strength of the Red Devils squad, Ferguson's biggest decision is over who to leave out, with some loyal foot soldiers struggling just to make the bench.

"It doesn't get any easier telling players they are left out, it actually becomes more difficult," said Ferguson. "I am certainly not going to enjoy it because some very good players are going to be left out.

"I hope in the future they extend the number of outfield players like they do in the World Cup because it doesn't matter what I tell them, it doesn't resonate. The disappointment is always deep and that is understandable."

If Ferguson's heartfelt plea is understandable, with Darren Fletcher, John O'Shea, Gerard Pique and club captain Gary Neville among those who could miss out, the Scot has not been caught off guard by Avram Grant's criticism of Steve Bennett's performance at Wigan on Sunday.

Bennett could have justifiably sent Scholes off at the JJB Stadium, or given a penalty against Rio Ferdinand, either of which might have swung the title pendulum Chelsea's way.

But United are hardly likely to feel Bennett's decisions have favoured them this season given the number of times Ferguson has complained about the official.

A master of mind-games himself, Ferguson felt there was a wider target for Grant's attack.

"I am not surprised," he said. "I think it is more about next Wednesday or even next season.

"We didn't get many decisions throughout the season. We can go on and on about them. Maybe we should have gone to Chelsea as champions but now the season is over we can put it on the back burner."

What Ferguson is not prepared to put on the back burner is the fact his team are champions.

Given Chelsea beat United when the two sides met three weeks ago, the Scot is keen to even up the momentum. And while he is not prepared to say winning the league will lead to victory in Moscow, he is not ruling it out.

"We are taking our achievement with us," he said.

"Obviously it may not have a bearing because Chelsea have a lot of experience but it won't harm us that's for sure.

"Chelsea have a more mature team than us but the one thing we have got is good big-game temperament. That will help."