United stay focused for Bursapor visit

Sir Alex Ferguson is optimistic Manchester United FC can put Saturday's disappointing home draw behind them as they look to take strengthen their position in Group C with victory against Bursaspor. Injury to Wayne Rooney and discussion over the striker's future dominated the build-up although visiting coach Ertuğrul Sağlam backed his side to continue improving in their first UEFA Champions League campaign.

Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United manager
Bursaspor have lost their first two games, it's their first time in Champions League which is not easy and so, given our home record, we'd expect to put the match to bed tomorrow. We'll make changes, using one or two younger players who need experience, but that doesn't mean we're going to be taking it lightly. The way Rangers [FC] set themselves out [in a goalless draw on Matchday 1] it would have been difficult anyway.

We're disappointed about Saturday [a 2-2 home draw with West Brom], we've now thrown eight points away this season after losing leads at the end of games. We've got to try and put it behind us, find remedies and move on to the next game. We missed some good opportunities again on Saturday but that doesn't mean [the profligacy] will last forever. Our goals scored ratio is not too bad, it's the ones we're letting in that concerns us.

I can't understand why [Wayne Rooney] would want to leave this club, so can't give you a reason. We can all speculate if we want but it won't matter: the player wants to leave. We now have to handle the next phase of that situation.

Ertuğrul Sağlam, Bursaspor coach
It's always hard to play Manchester United, especially at Old Trafford. That said, it's also one of the best places in the world to play.

It's true that after our league championship win last year we didn't have a lot of funds to strengthen our squad, though we still managed well last season even without having a huge squad. We're still very competitive and we work well together as a team.

Of course in football anything is possible, and if you believe in yourself you can achieve anything. We feel we're improving – as we showed against Rangers – and that we've room for even more improvement and will keep performing even better in the Champions League.

Team news
• Manchester United
Rooney will miss the match having suffered an ankle injury in training on Tuesday. Jonny Evans (hip) and Michael Owen (hamstring) are also out. Seemingly recovered from a hamstring problem, Ryan Giggs started the 2-2 draw at home to West Brom on Saturday, but was withdrawn before half-time. Antonio Valencia will miss "a good portion of the season" after dislocating and fracturing his left ankle against Rangers.

• Bursaspor
Ivan Ergić returned to face Kardemir Karabükspor having missed their previous league game after suffering a head injury. İbrahim Öztürk also played after shaking off a calf problem.

Weekend results
16/10/10 United 2-2 West Bromwich Albion FC
(Hernández 5, Nani 25; Evra 50og, Tchoyi 55)
United failed to win at home for the first time in the Premier League this season, an Edwin van der Sar error presenting the visitors with their equaliser. Javier Hernández scored his first goal in the Premier League, his third in four matches for club and country.

15/10/10 Bursaspor 2-2 Kardemir Karabükspor
(Turgay 10 23; Cernat 13pen 34)
Turgay Bahadır's first goals of the season were not enough to prevent a second successive draw for Bursaspor amid heavy rainfall at the Bursa Atatürk Stadium. Having conceded a solitary goal in their first eight league outings this term, Bursaspor shipped two in 21 minutes on Friday.

Did you know?
Bursaspor's only previous encounter with English opposition brought a 4-0 victory against Wimbledon FC in a UEFA Intertoto Cup tie in Brighton in June 1995. The Wimbledon side included three young players on loan from United: Michael Appleton, John O'Kane and Graeme Tomlinson.

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