FERGUSON OUTLINES 10-POINT PLAN

Fergie - ready for European title defence.

Sir Alex Ferguson has unveiled the game plan he believes will enable Manchester United to retain the Champions League trophy.

Lying in wait first of all in the group stages are Celtic, Spain's Villarreal and the Danes of Aalborg.

United should progress but Ferguson knows the road ahead could be littered with pitfalls.

"It is a great challenge for us, " said the United boss. "First of all we have to progress from the group stage and to do that you need 10 points to qualify.

"The tournament really kicks off in February. That is when it gets exciting, the one-off knock-out stages.

"I think we have a squad to challenge the best but you cannot think of yourselves as favourites when you see teams like AC Milan, Barcelona and Juventus - all great names.

"We will make sure we apply ourselves in the right way, then we will have a chance."

Ferguson insists the Champions League is getting tougher and used Standard Liege as an example.

The Belgians ran Liverpool close and he said: "There is a good standard at this level.

"Standard Liege were a surprise to me because Belgian football has not been that great for some years now. But it was an excellent performance against Liverpool."

Celtic chairman John Reid is relishing the challenge of facing the current champions.

Reid has fond memories of the last time they met United at Parkhead as the Glasgow giants sealed a 1-0 victory.

He said: "I am delighted for our fans we have once again drawn the champions of Europe. Last season it was AC Milan, the year before it was Barcelona.

"If we are going to play in Europe - and we are very proud to be Scotland's representatives - we may as well start with the big ones.

"They don't come much bigger than Manchester United so we are delighted. We have done very well at home and are proud of our record.

"The last time at home we pipped United at the post but they are European champions and we will not take them for granted."